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-1125 

THE ANCESTRY OF HER MAJESTY ^ 
QUEEN VICTORIA, 
AND OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
PRINCE ALBERT. 



COMPRISED IN THIRTY-TWO TABLES, WITH 
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS AND 
HERALDIC NOTICES. 



BY GEORGE RUSSELL FRENCH, 

ARCHITECT. 




-v-^Qr' •« 



LONDON 

WILLIAM PICKERING 

1341 




\sss 



" YOU ARE THEIR HEIR, YOU SIT UPON THEIR THRONE; 
THE BLOOD AND COURAGE THAT RENOWNED THEM 
RUNS IN YOUR VEINS." 

HEN. V. ACT I. SC 2. 

" AND THESE WERE THE HEADS OF THE HOUSE OF THEIR 

FATHERS, MIGHTY MEN OF VALOUR, FAMOUS MEN, AND 

HEADS OF THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS." 

1 CHRONICLES, CH. V. 24. 

" IN THY GREAT VOLUME OF ETERNITYE 
BEGIN, O CLIO, AND RECOUNT FROM HENCE 
MY GLORIOUS SOVERAINe's GOODLY AUNCESTRIE, 
TILL THAT BY DEW DEGREES AND LONG PROTENSE 
THOU HAVE IT LASTLY BROUGHT UNTO HER EXCELLENCE." 
FAIRIE QUEENE, B. III. CANTO 3, S. 4. 

" TITLE AND ANCESTRY RENDER A GOOD MAN MORE ILLUS- 
TRIOUS, BUT AN ILL ONE MORE CONTEMPTIBLE." 

ADDISON. 



TO THE 

REVEREND SIR THOMAS GERY CULLUM, 

BARONET AND F. R. S. 



ANNE LADY CULLUM, 

THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED, IN TOKEN OF MANY KINDNESSES 

RECEIVED FROM THEM, BY THEIR GRATEFUL 

AND OBLIGED SERVANT, 



GEORGE RUSSELL FRENCH. 






PREFACE. 

ON reading the title of this work, the ques- 
tion may probably be asked, does it con- 
tain any fresh information for the public ? To 
which it may be replied, that, to the great mass 
of the reading public, it is presumed, much of 
he information may be new. The genealogist 
aid herald will, with equal probability, be fami- 
iar with the names and pedigrees herein brought 
brward; but it is to be hoped that they will 
not grudge the extension of that knowledge, 
upon a subject so interesting to an English- 
man's enquiries. 

, The Compiler (at first only for his own amuse- 
ment) was led to his task by observing that 
the hitherto published charts of the genealogy 
of our Royal Family were really defective in 
their construction, and faulty in their detail : 
none have attempted to give much more than 



Vlll PREFACE. 

the direct ancestry of the English Sovereigns, 
commencing only with Egbert, and the line of 
the Scottish kings, into which all have com- 
mitted the mistake of introducing Banquo and 
Fleance; whilst no intelligence is afforded of 
the alliances between Royalty and our distin- 
guished Nobility, beyond the name of the indi- 
vidual so connected. Neither do we find the 
great (continental) Saxon family of Witikind 
given, nor the equally illustrious house of Este. 
Much of the substance of the following pages 
is to be found scattered over many volumes, 
nor can it be expected that every general reader 
should have the opportunity, even did he pos- 
sess the patience, to compare one authority 
with another, when frequently those very works 
are, from the nature of their contents, of too 
expensive a form for general circulation. 

In the course of a professional engagement, 
the Compiler has enjoyed the advantage of re- 
ferring to the excellent genealogical and heraldic 
library collected by the late Sir Thomas Gery 
Cullum, Baronet, and Bath King of Arms ; 
and in one work in this collection, whence the 



PREFACE. IX 



data for heraldic descriptions are chiefly de- 
rived, the antiquary will recognize an invaluable 
authority, viz. the MS. of the indefatigable 
Robert Glover, Somerset Herald in the time 
of Queen Elizabeth; this work, 1 a monument 
of patient labour, as well as accurate know- 
ledge, containing 8982 coats of arms drawn by 
his own hand, is attested to be authentic by the 
late Francis Townsend, Esq. Windsor Herald. 2 



1 Entitled " Insignia Gentilitia sive Armorum Formulas 
8982 manu propria Roberti Glover Somerset Heraldi script. 
1584." 

2 In page 18 is written in Mr. Townsend's own hand, 
" This volume is undoubtedly the genuine collection of that 
most learned and skilful Herald Robert Glover Somerset, 
and the sketches of arms and descriptions of the owners are 
drawn and written by himself. This he attests at page 
498, and it may therefore seem not to require any farther 
authentication. But as there have been many MSS. lately 
passed upon the world as his, which in truth are only im- 
perfect copies or poor imitations of his works, I gladly avail 
myself of an opportunity of vouching, from official expe- 
rience of more than forty years, the authenticity of the pre- 
sent volume. 

Francis Townsend, Windsor Herald, 

Bury St. Edmunds, 27 Oct. 1812, at 
the House of Sir Thos. Gery Cullum." 



X PREFACE. 

Finding that his materials increased in inte- 
rest as in bulk, and that much appeared likely 
to be unfamiliar to the public, the Compiler felt 
the hope, that the study which had afforded him 
pleasure might be welcome to others ; the re- 
sult is therefore produced in its present form 
rather than in a chart, for although the latter 
presents at one view the connecting links of the 
great chain of pedigrees, yet it must be almost 
entirely restricted to names and dates, whereas 
in a volume more information can be conveyed, 
and in a more convenient, and probably more 
economical form. It is hoped that the method 
pursued of giving Tables, arranged in columns, 
to convey as much information as could be 
crowded into a comparatively narrow compass, 
will be considered to compensate as nearly as 
possible for the form in which pedigrees are 
given in charts. The method, it is believed, is 
now adopted for the first time. 



4$H$H$t 



* 



INTRODUCTION. 

THE Compiler of the following pages can aspire to 
receive no higher award of praise than that 
which would be accorded to the careful workman, 
whose task would be to select pearls from several 
caskets in order to place them in one setting. Dili- 
gence to find out the best clues, and patience to un- 
ravel the often complicated mazes of genealogy, have 
been the only talents called into operation. 

It is hoped that this little work may prove not 
unacceptable to the readers of English History and 
lovers of their countrymen's fame, when, in the list of 
the illustrious ancestors of her present Majesty, they 
behold the names not only of Emperors and Princes, 
but those also of the scarcely less noble and distin- 
guished of some of our celebrated English families, 
whose 

" derivation was from ancestors 
Who stood equivalent with mighty kings."' 



Pericles, act v. sc. i. 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

thus whilst we find the imperial Charlemagne, the 
great Egbert, and the greater Alfred, and a long 
line of English and Scottish monarchs, stretching far 
into the obscurity of antiquity, with the princely 
Counts of Flanders, and the mighty Dukes of Nor- 
mandy; we shall perceive also the generous De 
Clare, the high-born De Burgh, the noble Mor- 
timer, the " well-skilled" Bruce, the " hardy" 
Douglas, and the valiant Stuart, names which 
belong, not merely to an individual whose prowess or 
conduct gained for him a place among the great ones 
of the land, but to Houses which had produced for 
ages " famous men, mighty men of valour, men of 
renown," who ranked as princes among the people, 
and who, in many cases, were as powerful as their 
sovereigns, who were often glad to purchase by alli- 
ances the support or submission of such dangerous 
subjects. 

A Briton may feel some pride in recollecting that 
in the veins of his Queen there runs the blood of those 
who have helped to raise England to her pitch of 
greatness ; and it is peculiarly interesting to observe, 
that circumstances have brought about a union of 
several currents into one stream, in a manner more 
remarkable than was ever seen in the pedigree of 
other royal houses. 

In the ninth century we find six contemporaneous 
Princes, viz. Charlemagne, Egbert, Witikind, 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

Kenneth M'Alpine, 2 Guelph, and Boniface, of 
whom it was utterly impossible for human eye to 
foresee, that at the remote distance of centuries, their 
blood would centre in one person. The relative posi- 
tion of some of these princes to each other was extra- 
ordinary. Charlemagne was the friend of Egbert, but 
the enemy of Witikind ; after few descents, the blood 
of the two former mingled in the person of Arnolf I. 
Count of Flanders; that of the great Saxon leader 
was added when his direct descendant, Henry the 
Lion of Saxony, wedded Matilda Plantagenet, sprung 
from the son of the Conqueror's Flemish Queen, and 
the niece of the last male descendant of the ancient 
Saxon princes. Another contemporary of the great 
Charles was Guelph, Duke of Bavaria, the first of 
that name so much to be distinguished in after his- 
tory, whose daughter Judith married Louis, son of 
the imperial Charles, by which alliance Guelph was 
ancestor, through the Flemish Counts, of Matilda, the 
Conqueror's Queen, as he was through his lineal 
descendant the Lion of Saxony, of the House of 



2 Perhaps a little indulgence must be claimed for introducing 
Kenneth in this list, who did not commence his reign until 836, 
twenty-two years after Charlemagne's death ; yet, although not 
ranking at the time as a reigning prince, Kenneth, from the 
active part he took in the lifetime of his grandfather Achaius, 
and his father Alpine, deserves a prominent notice, and hi^ 
name is more familiar than that of his predecessors. 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

Brunswick. The blood of the Guelphs mingled with 
that of the House of Este, of which Boniface the Ba- 
varian, the friend of Charlemagne, is the undoubted 
ancestor, in the person of Guelph V. paternal great 
grandfather of Henry the Lion of Saxony. The 
blood of Kenneth M' Alpine mixed with that of Egbert 
in David I. and this united stream flowed on till 
added in the person of James V. to the before united 
currents of Egbert and Charlemagne, whilst in George 
I. we behold blended the whole of these illustrious 
streams, and his great grandson George III. is de- 
scended, through his mother, from the great Witikind, 
by the second as well as by the elder son. It is also 
a remarkable coincidence, that each of these illustrious 
contemporaries was the founder of a new Family or 
Dynasty, — Charlemagne as the first Emperor of 
the West, Egbert as the first Monarch of all Eng- 
land, Kenneth, son of Alpine, as the first King of 
all Scotland; and although Witikind ceased to enjoy 
the title of King, yet in his new dignity of Duke of 
Saxony, we behold him as the first of a long and 
illustrious line of Princes. Guelph too was first of 
that name which even to the present day is known as 
the only patronymic of his descendants upon the 
throne of this country. In Boniface the Bavarian, 
Gibbon recognises the first probable ancestor of the 
Houses of Este and Brunswick. 

It will be the object of the present work to show 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

how the many rich and royal streams of far-derived 
ancestral blood mingle in the young veins of our 
Queen, with the as ancient and as noble currents of 
the Tudors, Stuarts, Bruces, and other potent 
families, whose names have been 

" familiar in our mouths as household words." 3 

From the ties of kindred which existed between 
her Majesty and her illustrious consort, the task of 
proving the ancestry of Prince Albert is comparatively 
easy, and the Compiler believes that he may claim the 
satisfaction of being the first to point out the direct 
and unbroken descent of His Royal Highness from 
her Majesty's Anglo-Saxon ancestors, a descent which 
attaches additional interest to one whose destinies are 
now linked inseparably with those of his adopted 
country. 

The Compiler trusts that he need not apologise for 
seeking to impart some interest to his pages by illus- 
trations from Shakspeare, the truly English chro- 
nicler of some of the most interesting portions of our 
history ; and if in two or three instances a discrepancy 
is shown to exist between the poet's statements and 
the facts which, since his time, have been brought to 
light by the research of the nineteenth century, it 
must not be attributed to a want of reverence for the 

3 Henry V. 



XVI INTRODUCTION. 

mighty Master, who drew his information from the 
best sources at the time open to his enquiry. 4 

The following arrangement of the Tables has been 
adopted as that best calculated to convey a simple 
and clear sequence of the pedigree of their illustrious 
subjects. In Table I. is given the Anglo-Saxon race 
from Cerdic to Egbert, a period of more than three 
centuries. In Table II. the race is continued from 
Egbert to Henry the Second, son of the last of the 
royal Saxon blood of Cerdic. In the Illrd Table is 
shown the line of the Dukes of Normandy, from Rollo 
to Henry II. Table IV. gives the descent of Henry 
II. through his great grandmother, the Conqueror's 
Queen, from the Counts of Flanders, and through 
them from the great-great-great grandfather of Char- 
lemagne. In the Vth Table, the Anglo-Norman line 
of monarchs commences with Henry II. who, born in 
England, unites in his own person the blood of the 
Anglo-Saxon, Frankish, Flemish, and Norman lines ; 
this Table is continued through Edmund Langley to 
Edward IV. whose descent from Lionel of Clarence is 
shown in the next Table, and from John of Gaunt in 
Table VII. In Table VIII. is exhibited the descent 
of Henry VII. from Edward III. through the Beau- 



4 Well has Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, "The Englishman, 
who without reverence, a proud and affectionate reverence, can 
utter the name of William Shakspeare, stands disqualified for 
the office of critic." Literary Remains, edited by H. N. Cole- 
ridge, esq. vol. ii. p. 62. 



INTRODUCTION. XV11 

forts, and continued through his union with the daugh- 
ter of Edward IV. to James VI. of Scotland and First 
of England. The Tudor ancestry of Henry VII. is 
given in Table IX. In the next Table is deduced the 
line of Scottish monarchs, from Kenneth M'Alpine in 
the ninth century, to King Robert Bruce, and con- 
tinued from him to James VI. whose lineal descendants 
are set forth in Table XI. to Her Present Majesty. 
In Table XII. the ancestry (so often misrepresented) 
of the House of Stuart, is given from the eleventh 
century to James VI. in the male line. In Table 
XIII. the rival House of Douglas is displayed, ending 
also in James VI. In Table XIV. the descent of the 
Bruces is shown, from the eighth century to King 
Robert the Bruce. In Table XV. the House of De 
Burgh is derived from a descendant of Charlemagne 
to Edward IV. who in the next Table is brought down 
from the House of De Clare, and in Table XVII. 
from the House of Mortimer, through which he 
claimed the crown, whilst his descent in Table XVIII. 
is deduced from the House of Wake through " Joan, 
the Fair Maid of Kent." In the XlXth and XXth 
Tables, the Kings of France in lineal descent are 
added, on account of so many alliances having taken 
place between them and the royal and noble indivi- 
duals named in the preceding Tables. In Table XXI. 
is commenced the Germano- Saxon pedigree of the 
Queen, from Charlemagne to Henry the Fowler, who, 



XV111 INTRODUCTION. 

in the next Table, is derived from Witikind the Great, 
and the line continued to Henry the Lion of Saxony, 
whose descent from the House of Guelph is shewn in 
Table XXIII. and from the House of Este in Table 
XXIV. and from the House of Billing in Table XXV. 
The line of Henry the Lion of Saxony, in whose 
person so many streams unite, is continued in Table 
XXVI. through the house of Brunswick to Queen 
Victoria. In the XXVIIth Table the descent of 
Frederick the Grave is given from the great Witikind, 
through his second son, as in Table XXVIII. it is 
shewn from Alfred the Great, and in Table 
XXIX. it is brought down to Her Majesty ; who in 
Table XXX. is derived maternally from Ernest the 
Pious ; whence also Prince Albert's lineage, being so 
closely connected with Her Majesty's, is given. Table 
XXXI. is occupied by the lineal Kings of Denmark, 
who were frequently allied with the royal houses of 
England: whilst Table XXXII. is occupied by the 
House of Mecklenburg. It would not be difficult to 
increase the number of Tables, but it is conceived 
that a sufficient selection of the most interesting de- 
scents has been chosen, to gratify without perplexing 
the reader. 

45, Great Marlborough Street, 
April 30, 1841. 






CONTENTS. 

Page 
Chapter I. The Pedigree of the Saxon Race from Cerdic 

to Egbert 1 

II. The Anglo-Saxon Line of Monarchs from 

Egbert to the Norman Dynasty . . 8 

III. The Pedigree of the Dukes of Normandy from 

Rollo to William the Conqueror . . 33 

IV. The Norman Dynasty from William the 

Conqueror to Henry II. . . .47 

V. The Pedigree of Henry II. from Pepin the 

Old to the Counts of Flanders . . 68 
VI. From the Counts of Flanders to Matilda, 

wife of William the Conqueror . . 79 
VII. The House of Plantagenet from the Acces- 
sion of Henry II. to the Death of Henry 

III 86 

VIII. The House of Plantagenet continued from 
the Accession of Edward I. to the Death 

of Edward II 104 

IX. The House of Plantagenet continued from 

Edward III. 116 

X. The Pedigree of Edward IV. from Lionel 

Duke of Clarence ..... 132 
XI. The Descent of Edward IV. from Edmund 

Langley 136 

XII. The Descent of Edw a rd IV. and Henry VII. 

from John of Gaunt .... 145 

XIII. The Descent of James I. of England from 

Edward IV. 151 

XIV. The Pedigree of the House of Tudor from 

Cadwallader to Henry VII. . . 167 



CONTENTS. 

Page 
Chap. XV. From Kenneth Mac Alpine in lineal descent 

to King Robert the Bruce . . . 183 
XVI. The Pedigree of the Family of Bruce to 

Robert II 202 

XVII. The Pedigree of the Stewarts to Robert II. 219 
XVIII. The Succession of the Stewarts, Kings of 

Scotland, to Jam ts VI. ... 229 

XIX. The Lineal Descent of Queen Victoria from 

James I. 251 

XX. The Elder Branch of Witikind to Henry 

the Lion . . . . . 276 

XXI. The Descent of Henry the Lion from the 

House of Guelph 280 

XXII. The House of Este to Henry the Lion . 287 
XXIII. The Descent of Queen Victoria from Henry 

the Lion of Saxony .... 296 

XXIV. The Descent of Frederick the Grave of Saxe- 
Gotha from Witikind the Great, and from 
Alfred the Great .... 309 

XXV. The Line continued from Frederick the Grave 

to H.R.H. Prince Albert . . . 314 
XXVI. The Houses of De Clare, De Burg, and 

Mortimer 321 

XXVII. Conclusion ...... 345 

Genealogical Tables 353 

Appendix ..... .... 385 



CORRIGENDA. 

P. 06, note 37, for " spousa" read " spousa." 

P. 137, line 15, read " to which he had no rightful claim." 

P. 147, note 3, for " spousa*' read " sponsa." 

P. 331, line 3, insert "of" before Mortimer. 



(3®®®®®$ 



THE ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 
AND PRINCE ALBERT. 

CHAPTER I. 

The Saxon people did, as most believe, 

Their name from Saxa, a short sword, receive. 1 

INTROD. TO CAMDEn's BRITANNIA. 

The Pedigree of the Saxon Race from Cerdic 
to Egbert. 

THE arrival of the Saxons forms an important 
era in the history of Britain. 2 The ill judged 
expedient of Vortigern in calling those hardy adven- 
turers to his aid against the Picts and Scots, soon 
recoiled upon himself, when Hengist and Horsa, 
having made conquest of those enemies, determined 



1 Quippe brevis gladius, apud illos Saxa vocatur, 
Unde sibi Saxo nomen traxisse putatur. engelhusius. 

2 Although the term Saxon is the common name bestowed 
upon the Northern Germans who conquered Britain, the adven- 
turers were in reality composed of three tribes; thus Hengist 
was a Jute, Cerdic was a Saxon, and Uffa was an Angle. 



'2 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

to fight in future for their own aggrandizement, and 
no longer in defence of their degenerate allies. The 
intelligence of the riches and fertility of Britain, and 
the prospect of readily subduing a people so little able 
to protect themselves, excited the countrymen of Hen- 
gist to flock over in great numbers ; and the result was 
the founding, by the self-styled descendants of Woden, 
of the several kingdoms known as the Heptarchy. 

In the year 495 one of these leaders, called Cer- 
dic, 3 " the most noble and powerful of the Saxon 
chiefs," 4 with his son Cenric, and a considerable force, 
landed in the south-west of England, and although he 
met with a more obstinate resistance from the Britons 
than the other tribes of Saxons had encountered, his 
persevering valour enabled him in the year 519 to 
establish the kingdom of Wessex, or West Saxony. 
The greatest opposition which Cerdic had to encounter 
was from the famous Arthur, Prince of the Silures, 
whose actions have been so magnified by the early 
British bards and chroniclers, one of whom asserted, 
" God has not made since Adam was, the man more 
perfect than Arthur," as to lead some modern writers 
to doubt his very existence. 5 But notwithstanding 

3 The initial letter in Cerdic, Cenric, and Ceawline, has the 
sound of K. 

4 Sir James Mackintosh. 

5 King Arthur is said to have conquered the Saxons in 
twelve pitched battles ; and in an action against his own nephew 



AND PRINCE ALBERT, , 3 

the romance which surrounds the real achievements of 
this renowned Prince, there is no more reason to doubt 
his existence, than that of Hercules, Theseus, and 
other ancient heroes, whose actual identity is to be 
traced amidst all the fabulous glories which accompany 
their names. 

Cerdic claimed a descent, in common with all the 
founders of the Heptarchy, from Woden, or Odin, 
" King of Men," who is placed by most genealogists 
between 200 and 300 years after Christ, and whilst 
the Icelandic documents would derive Woden from 
Memnon and a daughter of King Priam, the Saxon 
chroniclers present us with a pedigree of Cerdic from 
the patriarch Noah, in the following manner : 6 " Cer- 
dic was the son of Elesa, who was the son of Esla, the 
son of Giwis, son of Wigga, son of Freawine, son of 



Mordred, being mortally wounded, about 542, he was conveyed 
from the field, but the place of his burial not being known, the 
Britons long expected his return to lead them to conquest, and 
even as late as the reign of Henry II. the Welsh more especially 
did not abandon the hope, that this renowned hero would one 
day reappear, with his wounds healed, to reconquer Britain 
from the Normans. See Thierry's History of the Norman Con- 
quest. A similar instance of a nation indulging a long and 
fruitless expectation of the return of a much loved sovereign is 
probably familiar, that of Sebastian of Portugal, whose restora- 
tion was fondly looked for after many generations had passed 
away. 

6 Quoted from Playfair. 



4 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Freothogar, son of Brand, son of Beldeg, son of 
Woden (and Frea), son of Frithiwold, son of Frea- 
wine, son of Tsetwa, son of Beaw, son of Sceldwea, 
son of Heremod, son of Itermon, son of Hathra, son 
of Heotla, son of Bedwig, son of Sceaf, son of Noah, 
who was descended from Adam the first man." 7 

This is not the place to enter into a history of the 
various states into which Britain was divided by the 
victorious sons of Woden, neither is it necessary here 
to enquire whether the word Heptarchy is a more 
appropriate term for such partition than Octarchy 
since it is clearly to be shewn that eight separate and 
independent states existed at one and the same time 
under their respective kings, the two kingdoms of 
Deiri and Bernicia having for some time continued 
distinct before they became united in the person of 
Ethelfrid under the new name of Northumbria. 

The kingdom of Wessex, or rather the royal 



7 Whilst we may safely leave the pedigree from " the first 
man," or as Hardyng calls him " the first olde creatur," as far 
as Woden to speak for itself, there is no reason why the descent 
from Woden to Cerdic should not merit attention. Almost all 
the chroniclers agree in giving the descent/rom Woden as it is 
stated above, some however omitting Beldeg from the list. 
Among the early tribes and nations of the North, the want of 
written language was supplied by oral tradition, and we are 
told by Gerald Barry, that among the ancient Britons even 
those of the lowest rank retained in their memory their entire 
lineage with the same care which in other nations was peculiar 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. O 

family of that state, is the more immediate object of 
our attention, as it is from this branch of the great 
Saxon family that the kings of England derive their 
descent. 

Wessex, as founded by Cerdic, comprised the coun- 
ties of Dorset, Wilts, Hants, and Berks, with the Isle 
of Wight, which island was chiefly subdued by the 
valour of Porte, 8 a chieftain of Cerdic's army, to whose 
assistance he arrived with large succours, and whose 
name is traced in Portsmouth and Portland. Cerdic 
made Winchester the capital of his state, (and it con- 
tinued long to be the capital of the whole kingdom, 
even in the time of the Anglo-Norman rulers), and 
was crowned there in the year 519, and buried there 
in 534. The historian Gibbon calls Cerdic " one of 
the bravest of the children of Woden." Cerdic was 
succeeded by his son, the brave Cenric, who had been 
the companion of his father's toils, and had been 

to the rich and great, quoting promptly, "not only their grand- 
fathers and great grandfathers, but even to the sixth and seventh 
generation, and far beyond them." It is therefore quite pos- 
sible that the descent from so famous a personage as Woden, 
may have been carefully preserved through seven or eight gene- 
rations ; and although some may affect to consider him only as 
the great deity of the Saxons, yet there is no doubt that he 
actually flourished about two centuries after the Christian era. 
8 " For Port, thike grete duk, com up here by Southe, 
Me cleputh y t, ther he first com up, after hym Portesmouthe." 

ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER, p. 164. 



6 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

associated with him in the kingdom; 9 he died in 560, 
and was succeeded by his son, Ceawlin, an enter- 
prising and ambitious prince, who added the counties 
of Devon and Somerset to his dominions, and from 
his supremacy held the title of Bretwalda ; 10 but, car- 
rying his projects of aggrandizement too far, he pro- 
voked the jealousy of the other Saxon rulers, who 
formed a conspiracy against him, headed by Ethelbert 
King of Kent, by whom Ceawlin was deprived of his 
dominions in 591, in which, however, he was succeeded 
by his sons Cuichelme and Cuthwine, who reigned 
jointly for a short time, till the latter was expelled, 
and on the death of the former in 593, the throne 
of Wessex passed to Ceolric, son of Cuthulph the 
second son of its first founder Cenric. 

The line of Egbert's ancestry, however, is to be 
found continued in the person of Cuth, or Cutha, 
second son of Cuthwine 11 before mentioned, and his 
son Ceowald, or Chelwald (Speed), was father of 
Cenred, whose eldest son was the famous law-giver 
Ina, the eleventh, or according to some (as Heylin 
and others), the twelfth King of Wessex ; he ascended 

9 The Saxon Chronicle under the date of 519 states, 

" Her Cerdic and Cynric West Saexna rice onfengun." 

10 Bret-walda, wielder or ruler of the Britons, a title assumed 
by the most powerful monarchs of the Heptarchy. 

11 Ceadwalla, third in descent from Cuthwine, was tenth 
King of Wessex, and was a Bretwalda. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 7 

the throne in 690, and reigned thirty-five years, when 
resigning his crown he retired into a monastery. 
Cenred, who was one of his son Ina's counsellors, had 
a second son, Ingils, 12 who was the father of Eoppa, 
whose son Eta, or Eafa, begat Alchmund, father of 
the celebrated Egbert, who, when called upon to fill 
the throne of his ancestors, was the sole surviving 
male representative of the blood-royal of Cerdic. 

The father of Egbert, Alchmund, called also Ethel- 
mund, is stated by the Saxon chronicle, by Higden, 
Rudborne, Sharon Turner, and Sir Francis Palgrave, 
to have been a King of Kent, but to whom he was 
tributary does not appear. 

No information has descended to us of the consorts 
of the ancestors of Egbert. 13 Robert Glover, Somer- 
set Herald, in his " Catalogue of the Kinges of 
England, ever since it was so called," styles Egbert 
" the sonne of Alchmund, a petty prince, the sonne 
of Offa, of the blood of Ina, King of the West 
Saxons." 



12 The old chronicler Hardyng makes Ingils share the sove- 
reignty with his brother : 

" But Ingils and Ine his brother dere 

In Westsex reigned, which Conrede his sonnes were." 

P. 182. 

13 Hardyng however says of Egbert, 

" Syster's sonne he was to Kyng Sygbert, 
Also men sayde he came of Ingils' bloude 
And uery heyre he was to hym and Ine." P. 191. 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER II. 

"Egbright of alle the londe Lad the regante, 

Fro Douere unto Tuede alle was his fee." rob. brunne. 

" Alfred, Engle hirde, Engle darling, 
On Englond he was king." spelman. 

" To shake the Saxons' mild domain, 

Rush'd in rude swarms the robber Dane; 

From frozen wastes, and caverns wild, 

To genial England's scenes beguil'd." t. warton. 

Hie Anglo-Saxon line of Monarchs from Egbert 
to the Norman Dynasty. 

TN the }^ear 787, to avoid the persecution of Brith- 
-*- ric 1 , then in possession of the throne of Wessex, 
who was jealous of the better right of Egbert, the 
latter fled to the court of Charlemagne, at that time 
the greatest prince in Europe, who received Egbert 
with kindness, giving him a command in his armies. 



1 Brithric was seventh in descent from Ceoluph, third son of 
Cenric, son of Cerdic, and was grandson of King Adelard, to 
whom the lawgiver Ina resigned the crown of Wessex. Speed 
states that Egbert held a command of some part of Wessex, 
and that he was " neither the last nor the least in the opinion 
of the people, or suspect of his prince." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



In the year 800, on the death of King Brithric, by 
the poison which his infamous queen Eadburga 2 had 
prepared for another, Egbert was called to fill the 
throne of Wessex by the voice of his countrymen; 3 
and he soon gave proofs that his years of exile had 
well prepared him for the arduous part he was about 
to perform. By his prudence, superior abilities, and 
valour, aided by the mutual dissensions of the rulers 
of the neighbouring states, he succeeded in reducing 
all the kingdoms of the heptarchy to own his sway ; 
and although many of these states continued to be 
governed as separate kingdoms by name, he was in 
reality considered the Bretwalda, or Wielder of the 
Britons, a title denoting the paramount Lord, and 
which had been usually given to the most powerful 



2 So great was the disgust excited by the conduct of this 
woman, that the nation would not allow the succeeding con- 
sorts of their kings to be crowned. Retribution awaited Ead- 
burga upon earth ; after fleeing from her outraged country, she 
became reduced to extreme poverty, and led a life of wandering 
misery, dying in the streets of Pavia a common beggar. " Sicut 
a multis videntibus earn audivimus quotidie mendicana in Pavia 
miserabiliter moreretur." asser. 

3 Egbert was at Rome, attending his Imperial friend's coro- 
nation, when summoned to the crown of Wessex ; at his depar- 
ture for England, Charlemagne presented him his own sword. 

" Egbrygt was kyng y mad, as other byfore him were, 
Of Westsex in the yer of grace eygte hondred yer." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 257. 



10 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

ruler of the time. By some modern historians, Egbert, 
is called the first king of all England, whilst other 
writers refuse him that style for the reason above 
stated, that several parts of the kingdom still continued 
under the rule of nominal kings, though it cannot be 
doubted but that Egbert had the power to remove 
them. The title thus denied to him is generally 
bestowed upon Athelstan (and among other authori- 
ties by Mr. Collen), as he certainly enjoyed more 
uncontrolled power than any of his predecessors, as 
well from his own vigorous capacity, 4 as from the 
total annihilation of the descendants of all the early 
royal Saxon houses, except that of Cerdic. Thus we 
find that the great Alfred speaks of himself, " I, Alfred, 5 
of the West Saxons, King," in his public documents. 
Even as late as the time of the Confessor, we find 
Harold, son of Earl Godwin, called the sub-regulus 
of Kent. 6 

The Danes gave great annoyance to Egbert, whose 
exertions could only check, during his life-time, that 
tide of invasion which afterwards rolled so heavily 
upon Britain. 



4 A tempore ^Ethelstani, qui primus regum Anglorum omnes 
nationes quae Britanniam incolunt sibi armis subegit. (Chart a 
Edgari Regis, apud Monasticon Anglicanum. Dugdale, vol. 
I. 440). 

5 iEgo, iElfredus, Occidentalium Saxonum Rex. 

6 Until the Conquest, the kings of England were in fact little 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 11 

Egbert, according to most historians, died in 838. 
Glover says 837, but according to the Saxon chronicle, 
and Mr. Turner, in 836, 7 leaving by his consort, the 
Lady Redburga, who died 855, his son Ethelwolf, 
to succeed him, another son, Athelstan, who had 
Kent and Essex, and a daughter Editha. 8 

The Danes, not having to fear the vigorous arm of 
Egbert, poured in their destructive hordes in great 
numbers, and for the space of many years, harassed 
the kingdom, committing the greatest ravages ; and 
burned or pillaged Canterbury, London, Rochester, 
and other towns. Ethelwolf in resisting these North- 
men was ably supported by his sons Athelstan and 
Ethelbald. 

more than kings of Wessex, with a superior authority in name 
over the other portions of the realm, which under the rule of 
earls, were hardly less independent than when under the sway 
of their separate kings. 

7 The arms ascribed to Egbert by Glover, are, " Azure, a 
cross formy, or." Heylin gives them, " Quarterly, azure and 
or, a cross patonce counterchanged of the same/' 

" Alwaye in hvs banner, 
Of azuer whole the crosse of golde he bear." 

HAEDYNG. 

N. B. The armorial bearings throughout the work will be 
described as of colours and metals, and not with the names of 
precious stones and planets ; for though the latter are used for 
noble and royal houses, the terms are not so readily compre- 
hended by the general reader. 

8 Glover. Cat. of Honor, and Strutt. 



12 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Ethelwolf s first queen was the Lady Osburgha, a 
woman of very great acquirements, daughter of Earl 
Oslac, 9 Grand Butler of England ; " sprung from the 
chieftain, who, in the time of Cerdic, had obtained the 
Isle of Wight." 10 This nobleman had been employed 
by the King as ambassador, to recommend the Mer- 
cians to unite with the West Saxons against their 
common enemy the Dane. 

By this marriage Ethelwolf, besides the two sons 
above named, had Ethelbert, Ethelred, and Alfred, 
and a daughter, Ealswitha, 11 married to Burrhed, King 
of Mercia ; he died in 860, 12 and was succeeded by 
his third son, Ethelbert, whose reign was constantly 
disturbed by the invasions of the Danes, which con- 
tinued through the reign of his next brother, Ethelred, 
who acceded in 866, and who died in 872, of wounds 
received in action with the invaders, leaving several 



9 Glover calls Osburga " a very religious woman, both wise 
and nobly descended, the daughter of Aslatus, the famous 
butler to King Ethelwolph. But Aslatus himselfe was de- 
scended from the Gothes and Jutes, viz. from the stocke of 
the two brethren Seuph (Stuf) and Whitgar." (They were 
nephews of Cerdic, first King of Wessex). Simeon of Durham 
styles Oslac " Famosi pincerna Regis Edelwulfi." 

10 Sharon Turner. 

11 Ethelwolf had another daughter, Judith, who married 
Ethico I. son of Guelph. See Table XXIII. 

12 In the year 854, Ethelwolf dedicated the tenth part of the 
revenue of his own lands, and those of his subjects, to the use 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 13 

children, who, being too young to rule a nation groan- 
ing beneath a foreign invasion, were set aside for 
their uncle, the immortal Alfred, at that time twenty- 
two years of age. 

Alfred, the youngest son of Ethelwolf and Osbur- 
gha, was born at Wantage, in Berkshire, in the year 
849 ; when five years old, he was sent by his father 
to Rome, where he received from Pope Leo IV. the 
rite of royal unction ; and at eight years of age, he 
made a second voyage to the Imperial City, at this 
time accompanied by his father. 13 

The two great Anglo-Saxon authorities, Turner 
and Palgrave, are at issue respecting one point of 
Alfred's education, 14 the former asserting that he owed 
his early culture to Judith, his father s second wife ; 
whereas, the latter author jealously claims the distinc- 
tion " for his own mother Osburgha, and not the 



of the clergy. The arms given to Ethelwolf by Glover, are, 
" Azure, a cross potent fitched or," which are those ascribed by 
Heylin to his three eldest sons. 

13 It was on his return from Rome through France that Ethel- 
wolf, stopping at the court of Charles the Bald, married that 
monarch's beautiful daughter, Judith, who became afterwards 
the wife of Baldwin of Flanders. 

" And home thei came unto the Kyng of Fraunce, 
And his doughter Judith ther wedded clere." 

HARDYNG, p. 195. 

14 Hie famous St. Swithin is supposed to have been entrusted 
with the earliest education of Alfred, not much to the credit of 



14 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

French woman Judith." Dr. Lingard, an excellent 
authority, asserts that it was Osburgha who awakened 
a passion for learning in her son's mind. Strutt 
asserts the same thing. 

By the voice of his country, Alfred was called upon 
to fill the throne of Wessex, the patrimony of his 
ancestors, and to defend England against its bitter 
enemies. He had acted against the Danes as general 
of his brother Ethelred, and very early displaved 
military skill and personal valour. 

The history of this illustrious patriot and prince 
has been described by so many writers, that it will 
suffice for our purpose to quote from two or three 
authorities. By his admiring contemporaries, he is 
called by the most endearing epithets, " The shepherd 
of his people;" " The darling of the English;" and 
" The wisest man in England :" ,5 and Mr. Turner 
says, by a Norman writer, " The truth-teller." Mo- 

the Saint, since Alfred was nearly twelve years of age before he 

knew his alphabet. 

" He was more than ten yer old, ar he couthe ys abece, 
Ac ys gode moder ofte smale gvftes hym tok, 
Vor to byleve other pie, and loky on ys boke." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 266. 

15 " Alfred he was on Englond a king full swithe strong, 
He was king and clerk, well he luvied God's werk. 
He was wise on his word, and war on his speeche, 
He was the wiseste man that was on Engelond." 

spelman, p. 127. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 15 

dern historians are equally loud in his praise. " The 
title of Great, which has been lavished on the de- 
stroyers or plunderers of mankind, was never more 
deservedly given than to Alfred, who had in his cha- 
racter a happy mixture of every great and good quality 
that could dignify or adorn a prince. Having rescued 
his country from slavery, he enacted excellent laws, 
built a fleet, restored learning, and laid the foundation 
of the English constitution.'' 16 

The late Reverend Hugh James Rose sums up his 
character by saying that, " all things considered, 
England may challenge mankind to produce, among 
the kings of the earth, an equal to her immortal 
Alfred." The learned Keightley can only compare 
him with Marcus Aurelius, and Mirabeau and Herder 
give him the palm of superiority over Charlemagne ; 17 
whilst Voltaire bears this honourable testimony to our 
great countryman : " Je ne sgais s'il y a jamais eu 
sur la terre un homme plus digne des respects de la 
posterite qu' Alfred le grand, qui rendit ces services 



" Kyng Alfred was the wysost kyng that long was byuore." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 266. 

16 Granger, Biog. Hist. 

17 It is rather a strange fact, that whilst foreign writers con- 
cede the preference to our great countryman over the Imperial 
Frank, Dr. Dunham considers that Alfred cannot be compared 
with him for one moment. History of the Germanic Empire, 
vol. i. p. 34. 

C 



16 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

a sa patrie, suppose que tout ce qu'on raconte de lui 
soit veritable." 18 

An interesting fact connected with Alfred's conceal- 
ment with the neat-herd in the Isle of Athelney, is 
seldom noticed. Godwin in his catalogue of English 
bishops, page 215, states that " the King having 
recovered the peaceable possession of his crown, was 
not unmindful of his old master, in whom perceiving 
an excellent sharpness of wit, he caused him (though 
it were now late, he being a man grown) to study, 
and having obtained some competency in learning, he 
preferred him to the bishopric of Winchester." Hey- 
lin confirms this statement by saying, that the twentieth 
Bishop of Winchester was " Denewulfus, a hog-herd 
under King Alfred, whom he sheltered when he fled 
from the Danes." Sir Henry Spelman states that 
Denewulf was one of Alfred's chief councillors. 

According to the Saxon chronicle, and Robert of 
Gloucester, 19 Alfred died in 901, whilst Matthew of 
Westminster and Ingulphus place his death a year 
earlier, as does Robert Glover. He died full of 
honours, rather than of years, but probably few men 
lived so much in an equal space of time. 20 Alfred's 

18 Voltaire, Essai sur les Moeurs, vol. xvi. p. 473. 
. l9 " In the yer of grace nyne hondred yer & on & nanmo." 

roe. of Gloucester's chronicle, p. 267. 
20 Alfred suffered much from some dreadful complaint, which 
Mr. Turner supposes was an internal cancer. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 17 

queen was Ealswitha, daughter of Ethelred, or Ethe- 
land Mucil, i. e. the Great, 21 the earldoman of Mercia, 
and called by some Earl of Gainsborough, whose wife 
was Eadburga, descended of the blood-royal of Mercia, 
being daughter" 22 of Wigmund, son of Wiglaf, the 
titular king of Mercia under Egbert, and the Lady 
Elfled, daughter of Ceolwulf, King of Mercia. 23 

Alfred's children were three sons, and three daugh- 
ters, or as some say, four; of the former, the eldest, 
Edmund, died in his father's life-time, and the youngest 
led a private and studious life ; the second son suc- 
ceeded his father as Edward the Elder.' 24 The 
eldest daughter was Ethelfleda, called emphatically 
"the Lady," a woman of masculine spirit, and great 
talents, who succeeded to the government of Mercia, 
upon the death of her grandfather in 912, and in 
defence of which against the Danes, she exhibited 
much of her great father's martial spirit. Another 
daughter of Alfred was Alfritha, married to Bald- 
win the Second, Count of Flanders, from which alliance 

21 " Mucill eo quod erat corpore magnus." 

ASSER, IN VIT. ALF. 

22 Strutt calls Eadburga the daughter of King Wiglaf and 
Cynethryth. 

23 Speed. 

24 " After this Alfride kom Edward the olde, 

Faire man he was and wis, stalworth and bolde, 
At London, at Saynt Poule's toke he the croune." 

PETER LANGTOFT, p. 26. 



18 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

descended Matilda, wife of 'William the Conqueror, 
and consequently her present Majesty. 23 Two other 
daughters of Alfred are said to have been nuns. 

Edward the Elder succeeded his father in 900-1, 
and it is expressly stated by the early chroniclers that 
he was elected by the Witan (sages) to the exclusion 
of his cousin, Ethel wald, son of Ethelred. Edward 
was very successful against the Danes and Britons, 
and died in 925, (Sax. Chron.) having appointed 
Athelstan his successor. 26 Edward was thrice married, 
his last wife was Eadgiva, daughter of Earl Sigelline, 
Lord of Meapham, ' Culings,' and Lenham in Kent, 27 a 
valiant nobleman slain in battle against the Danes ; 
the sons of this marriage were Edmund the Elder, 
who ascended the throne on the death of his brother 
Athelstan, and Edrid, who acceded after his brother's 
death. One of Edward's daughters, Egiva, or Ogive, 
by his second wife, 28 was married to Charles the Simple, 
King of France ; and their daughter Giselle became 
the first wife of the Norman Rollo. Another of 

25 The arms ascribed by Glover and Heylin to Alfred, are, 
" Cheque, or and purpure, on a chief sable a lyon passant gar- 
dant of the first." 

26 The arms of Edward the Elder, are said to be, by Glover, 
" Azure, a cross formy between four martlets or ;" by Heylin, 
•' Azure, a cross patonce between four martlets or." 

27 Glover. Cat. of Honor. 

28 The second wife of Edward the Elder, was Elfleda, daugh- 
ter of the Saxon Earl Ethelhelm. of which marriage were two 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 19 

King- Edward's daughters, Editha, was married first 
to Sihtric, king of the Danes, and after his death, to 
the Emperor Otho I. 29 son of Henry the Fowler, and 
from this alliance Prince Albert is descended (as is 
also her Majesty), who thus can number among his 
ancestors the ancient Saxon rulers of this land. Ano- 
ther daughter of Edward the Elder, styled Edgiva, 
who became the wife of Louis, duke of Acquitaine, is 
said by William of Malmsbury, to have been a woman 
of extraordinary beauty. 30 

Athelstan, supposed, but scarcely with good proof, 
to have been only a natural son of Edward the Elder, 
was a prince of great talents, and warlike abilities ; 
his favour and alliance were courted by some of the 
most powerful princes of Europe. In the year 938, 
was fought the battle of Brunnan-burgh, rendered 
famous by song and chronicle, between Athelstan and 
the allied forces of Anlaf the Dane and Constantine 
the Scot, " the race of the Scots and the men from 
the ships," wherein Athelstan, " lord of earls and 
giver of bracelets," gained a decisive victory. 



sons who died young, Elfleda a nun, Egiva, Ethelhild a nun 
Eldelhild who married Hugh the Great, Count of Paris, but had 
no issue by him, Editha, and Elgiva. 

29 By Glover and others, the wife of the emperor Otho is 
said to be Algiva, the third daughter of Edward the Elder. 
Strutt says that it was the sixth daughter, Edgith. 

so «. Edgivam speciositatis eximiae mulierem." 



20 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

After a vigorous reign of sixteen years, Athelstan 
died in 94 1, 31 when he was succeeded by Edmund, who 
had distinguished himself under his brother at Brun- 
nan-burgh; 32 after his accession, his chief exploit was 
the conquest of Cumbria, or Cumberland, which he 
bestowed upon Malcolm I. king of Scots, to hold it, 
as a vassal of the English crown, on condition that he 
should become his ally, and assist him by sea and 
land, in defence of his kingdom. 33 Edmund, sur- 
named the Elder?* to distinguish him from his de- 
scendant Ironside, was stabbed at a banquet, by Leolf, 
an outlaw, in 946, leaving by his wife Elgifa, or Elgina, 
two sons, Edwy who ascended the throne on his uncle 
Edred's death, in 955, and Edgar 35 who succeeded his 
brother in 958-9. 36 

The reign of Edgar, surnamed the Peaceable, is 
one of the most distinguished in the annals of our 

31 Athelstan was never married ; he is called by an old 
French MS. chronicler of England: " Le plus beau bacheler 
ke pout estre et mellur de sun cors et personage, cist on Engle- 
terre." From a MS. in the Cotton. Library, quoted by Strutt. 

32 In the ancient poem on the battle of Brunnan-burgh, Ed- 
mund is styled the jJEtheling. 

33 Sir W. Scott, Hist, of Scotland, vol. i. p. 14. 

M Edmund bore for his arms, " Azure, three crowns or." 

GLOVER. 

35 The celebrated Dunstan, born a. d. 925, successively 
abbot of Glastonbury, bishop of Worcester, and of London, and 
lastly, archbishop of Canterbury, had a paramount influence in 
the reigns of Edmund, Edred, Edwy, Edgar, and Edward the 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 21 

early kings; his power was greater, and his sway 
more firmly established than that of his predecessors. 
The English chroniclers record with evident feelings 
of triumph, the circumstance of Edgar being rowed 
on the River Dee by eight tributary kings, the Saxon 
chronicle numbers only six ; but the Scottish historians 
vehemently deny that Kenneth III. formed one of 
the number, as alleged by those of the rival nation. 
Edgar died in 975. 37 (Sax. Chron.) 

Edgar's first wife was Elfleda, daughter of Ordmer, 
a nobleman of East Anglia, by whom he had a son 
and successor, Edward, surnamed the Martyr, who, 
after a short reign of four years, fell a victim to the 
hatred of his step-mother, Elfrida, who caused him to 
be stabbed in the back whilst drinking from a cup 
at her door. This event occurred in the year 978-9, 
and the Saxon chronicler speaking of the Martyr, 
says, " he was in life an earthly king, he is now, after 
death, a heavenly saint." 38 

Martyr ; his influence declined in the time of Ethelred II., and 
he died in 988. It was in Edred's reign that Dunstan intro- 
duced celibacy among the clergy of England. 

36 " Rex Anglorum pacificus Eadgarus." florent. wigokn. 

37 Glover ascribes to Edgar for arms, " Azure, a cross formy 
between four martlets or," being those of bis grandfather. 

" He deyde and wende to hevene, nyn hondred yer ych wene 
As in the yer of grace, and sixty and fyftene." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 287. 

38 The godnesse of thys yonge kyng ne may no tonge telle." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 287. 



22 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

The second wife of Edgar was the celebrated El- 
frida, 39 the heroine of Mason's poem ; she was the 
daughter of the great noble Ordgar, Earl of Devonshire, 
a person of the highest consideration and power in 
the West of England. This beautiful, but ambitious 
and wicked woman, whose fatal allurements led to 
the death of her first husband Earl Ethelwold, that 
she might share a throne, did not scruple to clear 
the way to the succession in favour of her own son 
Ethelred, whom she had by Edgar, by the murder of 
her king and step- son. She is said to have " repent- 
ing hirselfe for the murthering of King Edward, be- 
stowed all hir substance upon the poore, and in repair- 
ing of churches and monasteries, and founded two 
houses of nuns, the one at Ambresburie and the 
other at Whorwell, wherein she at length became a 
professed nun." 40 

" And rerde tuo nonneryes, Worwel that one was, 
And Ambresbury that other, to bete hire trespas. 
An adde grace, gif God wolle, hire sinne vor to bete." 41 

Ethelred II. surnamed the Un-ready, 42 who 
mounted a throne stained with a brother's blood, 

39 " He wedded Elfrith to wyfe, 

That doughter was to Duke Orgare full rife." 

HARDYNG, p. 214. 

4 " Glover. 

41 Rob. of Gloucester, p. 291. 

42 Rex pulchre ad dormiendum factus. 

WILLIAM OF M^LMSBURY. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 23 

possessed neither the ability nor spirit of his ancestors, 
and instead of repelling by arms, as they had, the 
invading Danes, he purchased their departure by 
large sums of money, an expedient of getting rid of 
them, which, as might be expected, only excited the 
cupidity and invited the return of those marauders. 

Ethelred in 1013, no longer able to stem the tor- 
rent of invasion, fled to Normandy with his second 
wife and her children, leaving his brave son Edmund 
to contend with the Danes. 

His first wife was Elgifa, or Ethelgina, daughter of 
Duke Thored, called by Lingard, the Ealdorman Tho- 
red, by whom he had two sons, (Lingard says six, and 
four daughters), 43 Edmond Ironside, 44 who succeeded 
him, and Edwy, murdered by Canute. 

Ethelred's second queen was Emma, daughter of 

" Tbys gode man Seyn Dunston 
Hatede muche to croune hym, gyf he it mygte vergon." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 290. 

43 One of Ethelred's daughters, Elfgina, married Uthred 
Earl of Northumbria, whose third son (Strutt says grandson) 
was Gospatric, Lord of Raby, temp. Wm. I. whose great grand- 
child Robert, Lord of Raby, married with Isabel, daughter and 
heir of G effrey Lord Nevill, of which marriage are descended 
the three noble families of the Nevills. — Glover. The eldest 
son of Gospatric was Dolphin, from whom are descended the 
Earls of Dunbar and March. Goda, another daughter, married 
Walter de Maigne, and secondly, Eustace of Boulogne. 

44 Thierry, in his valuable History of the JNorman Conquest, 
and Mr. Turner in his History of the Anglo-Saxons, call Ed- 



24 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Richard I. Duke of Normandy; from her beauty 
called the " Pearl of Normandy," an alliance which 
in the end, partly laid the foundations of the Con- 
queror's claim to the English throne ; the issue of 
this marriage was two sons, Alfred, murdered by 
Godwin, and Edward, afterwards king, and known as 
the Confessor. 

Ethelred, 45 recalled from exile by his countrymen, 
resumed his kingly rank, but dying in 1016, he was 
succeeded by his brave son Edmund Ironside* 6 so 



mund Ironside a natural son of Ethelred ; but why they thus 
cast a stigma upon his birth does not appear : all other writers 
assert his legitimacy. 

" Edmond Ironeside goten and generate 

Of his first wife, a duke's doughter of England." 

HARDYNG, p. 219. 

45 Ethelred added another martlet in base to those borne by 
his father, and this augmentation was borne by Edward the 
Confessor. 

46 " The kyng adde by hys vorste wyf one stalwarde sone, 
That, vor his stalwardhed, longe worth in mone. 

Vor me ne vondnon so gode knygt ware so he wende wyde, 
Me cleped hym, vor hys strengthe, Edmond yrensyde." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 293. 

" Dreduol he was to ys fou, that hym durste vewe abyde, 
Debonere and mylde he was to alle that gode were 
Queynte and suythe hardy mon, as man wythoute fere." 

p. 302. 
" The best body and noblest, that in eny lond tho was." 

p. 310. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 25 

called from his hardy valour, who partly retrieved the 
sinking fortunes of his country, and made Canute, 
then in possession of a great part of England, agree 
to a partition of the kingdom. Edmund's reign was 
unfortunately of but short continuance, being mur- 
dered in 1017, at the instigation of his brother-in-law 
Edric, who is called by Speed " a very compound of 
treasons ;" leaving by his consort Algitha, 47 a daugh- 
ter and two sons, Edwin and Edward; the latter, 
generally surnamed the Outlaw, or Exile, from his 
living so much away from his native country. Ed- 
ward, who became on his brother's death the Athel- 
ing, or heir to the throne, married Agatha, daughter 
of Henry II., Emperor of Germany, by whom he was 
father of Edgar the Atheling, and of two daughters, 
Christina, who took the veil, and Margaret, after- 



47 Algitha, " who was of great beauty, and noble parentage," 
(Speed) was the widow of Sigeferth, a Danish Thane ; her 
eldest son, Edwin, by some called Edmund, married the daugh- 
ter of Solomon, or, as some authors say, Stephen, King of 
Hungary, who behaved most nobly to the youthful princes, and 
gave, as Hardyng hath it, 

" Unto Edmonde his owne doughter dere, 
Whiche Edmonde then dyed, and she in fere 
Without chylde, wherfore Agath his coosyn, 
Doughter of Henry, he gave to Edwarde syne." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 222. 

Solomon, King of Hungary, married Sophia, another daughter 
of the Emperor Henry II. 



26 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

wards Queen of Malcolm III., King of Scots, and 
ancestress of the royal houses of Scotland and Eng- 
land, from whom her Majesty Queen Victoria is 
twenty-fifth in descent, by either line. 

After the murder of Edmund Ironside, the whole 
kingdom fell under the sway of the Danish Knut, or 
Canute, who was looked upon as king of all England. 4S 
He married the widow of Ethelred, Emma of Nor- 
mandy, by whom he had a son, who afterwards filled 
the throne, Harda-Knut, or Canute the Hardy ; upon 
whose death in 1041, Edward, surviving son of Ethel- 
red and Emma, was invited, at the instigation of Earl 
Godwin, to become king, by the united voice of the 
English nation ; 49 which was thus once more under 
the rule of one of its native princes, although the true 
line of succession was not observed, since the children 
of Edmund Ironside were alive, but abroad, whither 
they had been sent by Canute, whose intention was that 
they should be destroyed ; but the young princes were 
so fortunate as to find a refuge in the court of Solo- 
mon, 50 King of Hungary, who married Sophia, daugh- 
ter of the Emperor Henry II., and whose sister Agatha, 
as before stated, was afterwards married to Edward 
the Atheling. 



4S " Full kyng ofer eall Engla-land." Sax. Cbrou. 

49 " Eall folc geceas Eadweard to cynge." Sax. Chron. 

50 Papebroche asserts that it was Stephen, King of Hungary, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 27 

As the last of an ancient dynasty, the Confessor 
merits a short notice, the more that his history is so 
closely linked with that of his kinsman, the Norman 
William, who was destined to be the founder of a new 
race of monarchs upon the throne of the Saxons. 

King Edward, altogether, had passed twenty-seven 
years at the court of Normandy, and therefore it is 
not surprising that he should have formed a strong 
friendship for the country in which he had received 
shelter and education. " The court of England," 
says Hume, " was soon filled with Normans, who 
being distinguished both by the favour of Edward, 
and by a degree of cultivation superior to that which 
was attained by the English in those ages, soon ren- 
dered their language, customs, and laws fashionable 
in the kingdom." 

The preference shown to the Normans roused the 
jealousy of Earl Godwin, already too powerful for a 
subject, 51 and who had also a deeper and more personal 



who sheltered the English princes, and that Solomon was not 
born at this time. 

51 Godwin was son of Ulfnoth, or Wulfnoth, at first a peasant 
or sheep-herd, but afterwards, according to Hume and others, 
governor of Sussex. Godwin, who followed his father's humble 
occupation, had succoured a Danish captain in an hour of need, 
and through his means obtained a military command from 
Canute, by whom he was highly honoured, and with whom he 
became allied in marriage, as Godwin obtained the hand of 






28 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

cause of resentment against the king ; namely, the 
ill treatment of his daughter, the beautiful and gentle 
Editha, to whom, though married to him, Edward had 
transferred all the hatred he bore to her father. The 
subsequent rebellion of Godwin and his sons, although 
formidable, was not responded to by the English in 
general, who were strongly attached to Edward for 
his many good qualities, as well as on account of his 
descent from a long line of their native princes. 5 ' 2 The 
death of Godwin in 1053, rid the king of one dan- 
gerous subject, to raise up one still more formidable 
in his son Harold, who with all his father's ambition, 
possessed superior talents, virtue, and address. Harold 
aimed at the crown, and all his energies were directed 



Githa, daughter of Duke Wolf, and according to Mr. Collen, 
her brother Ulf married Astrida, the sister of King Canute. 
Godwin had six sons, viz. Sweyn, Tostig, Wilnod, Harold, 
Gurth, and Leofric, or Leofwin. In allusion to his birth, 
Robert Glover calls Harold " a gentleman but of one descent." 
In the " Catalogue of Honor," Godwin is called the son of Ulnoth, 
the son of Agelwar, who was brother of Edric de Streona, Duke 
of Mercia, that man of many treasons. 

52 Edward carried his fondness for the Normans so far as to 
place them in command of provinces, fortresses, and in other 
important stations. The see of Canterbury was filled by a Nor- 
man, called Robert of Jumieges, and that of London by his 
countryman William ; and Ulf, another Norman, held the see 
of Dorchester. Well might the future Conqueror, therefore, 
imagine that he was still in his own duchy, when, on his arrival 
in England, he found himself surrounded by captains and soldiers, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 29 

towards the accomplishment of his views, in the event 
of the king's death. The dislike which Edward felt 
towards the family of Godwin, and the necessity of 
providing for the succession, since he was childless, 53 
and increasing in years and infirmities, induced him 
to send over to Hungary to invite his nephew (whose 
right by birth was better than his own) to England. 
Edward, commonly called the Outlaw, left the hospi- 
table court of his brother-in-law, the King of Hungary, 
and arrived in his native country with his three chil- 
dren, Edgar, Margaret, and Christina; 54 but unfortu- 
nately, the prince died in a month (1057) after his 
landing, leaving the king in greater perplexity than 
before ; since the youth of Edgar, 55 now become the 



courtiers and prelates, wearing the Norman dress and using the 
Norman tongue. 

53 In Sir Walter Scott's delightful romance of " Ivanhoe," 
Athelstane of Coningsburg is supposed to be descended from 
Edward the Confessor and Editha. See Chapter XXII. 

54 " Edward and Agace hys wyf, & her chyldren thre 

The yonge Edgar Adelyng, & also Margarete, 
And Christyne her sostor, that god were & suete." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 343. 

55 Edgar the .<Etheling was only fourteen years of age at the 
time of the Conquest. 

" Of the croune of Engelond he nuste wat best do, 

Vor Edgar, hys neven sone, wel yonge was therto 

To be kyng of Engelond ..... 

Hym thogte to gyve Wyllam thys lond, hyt was best to do." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 346. 



30 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Atheling, rendered him very unfit to cope with the 
matured experience and great popularity of Harold. 

In this dilemma Edward turned his thoughts to- 
wards his kinsman William, Duke of Normandy, for 
whom he entertained the highest esteem, and whose 
reputation as a soldier and statesman, promised to 
maintain for him the exalted position for which he 
was destined by King Edward's inclination. 

Duke William had in the year 1051 paid a visit to 
the Confessor, passing over to England with a splen- 
did retinue; but no authentic record exists to show 
that any understanding then took place between the 
cousins as to the succession, whatever might have been 
the hope conceived by William, of one day obtaining 
so brilliant a prize. 56 

In the mean time, Harold proceeded to clear the 
obstacles which were in his path to a throne ; among 
which was one that had arisen from the rebellion of 
his father, who had been obliged to give up to King 
Edward as hostages for his good behaviour, his son 
Wilnod, and his grandson Hacon, son of Sweyn ; and 
these pledges had been sent by the king to the safer 
custody of his kinsman the Duke of Normandy. To 
release these relatives, who had been ten years in 
captivity, was now the object of Harold, who, by his 

56 " De successione autem regni, spes adhuc aut mentio nulla 
facta inter eos fuit." ingulphus. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 31 

representation of his entire submission, obtained King 
Edward's sanction to demand their liberation. He 
set sail for Normandy with a large retinue, but his 
vessels being storm-driven upon the territories of 
Guido, or Guy, Count of Ponthieu, he was taken 
prisoner, but given up by Guy to the Duke William, 
whose vassal he was. The Norman, rejoiced at having 
in his power the important hostage which fortune had 
thrown in his way, resolved to prevent Harold from 
becoming his competitor by binding him to his interest ; 
he revealed to him the intentions of the Confessor in 
his own favour, and promised to increase the present 
greatness of Harold's family in return for his support ; 
and to engage him still more to his interest, the duke 
agreed to give him one of his daughters in marriage. 
Harold saw that his own liberty, as well as that of 
his brother and nephew, depended upon his compli- 
ance with the duke's demands, and consented to 
relinquish his pretensions to the throne in William's 
favour, and this promise he was obliged to ratify by 
oath, upon an altar beneath which William had secretly 
conveyed relics of the greatest sanctity, to the astonish- 
ment of Harold when the artifice was discovered. 57 



57 " Tut une cuve en fist emplir, 
Pois (Tun paele les fist covrir, 
Ke Heraut ne sout ne ne vit." roman de rou. 
Harold's concern was occasioned by his having sworn upon 
D 



82 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

His respect for what he considered an extorted oath 
was not of long continuance, for shortly after his 
return from Normandy he married Alditha, sister of 
Morcar, whom he procured to be invested with the 
dukedom of Northumberland, to the expulsion of 
Harold's own brother, Tostig, who fled to the court 
of the Earl of Flanders, whose daughter Judith 58 he 
married, thus becoming brother-in-law of the Duke of 
Normandy, whom he strongly urged, upon the death 
of the Confessor, to make a descent upon England, 
and claim the throne usurped by him who had injured 
them both. 

The last Saxon king of the ancient blood-royal of 
Cerdic expired in 1066, January 5th, nearly five cen- 
turies and a half since that great founder was crowned 
as King of Wessex ; and was buried in the abbey of 
West-minster, which had been only dedicated by him 
eight days before. 59 



such important relics, whilst he supposed he only made his tow 
upon a few of trifling value, placed on the altar. 

" And up holy relykes Harald suor to Wyllam bastard, 
Treulyche to wyte Engelond to hym, vorte he come." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 348. 

58 Judith, after the death of Tostig (1066) became the wife 
of Guelph V., and by him was mother of Henry Niger, ancestor 
of her present Majesty. See Table XXIII. 

59 Until the time of the Reformation, the kings of England 
at their coronation were sworn to observe the laws of Edward 
the Confessor. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. S3 



CHAPTER III. 

" Whiche Rollo then landed in Normandye, 
Of whome all dukes of that provynce discent, 
And wan that lande with swerde full manfully, 
And duke there was made of hole entent, 
By processe after and by the kynges assent 
Of France, whose doughter he wed to his wyfe, 
And Christen man became so alle his lyfe." 

HARDYNG, p. 205. 

" Seignors, par la resplendor De, 
La terre ai as dous mainz seizie ; 
Tote est nostre quant qu'il i a." 1 rom. de rou. 

The Pedigree of the Dukes of Normandy , from 
Rollo to William the Conqueror, 

FOR five or six centuries before Rollo made his 
successful attempt, Gaul had been subject to 
the inroads of the Northmen, more or less encouraged 
by the character of the kings who ruled that country ; 
which was free from their attacks during the vigorous 



1 Such was the ready repartee and prediction of William the 
Conqueror to his soldiers, when they were alarmed at the ill 
omen of his falling on his face, as he came ashore at Pevensey. 



34 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

reign of Charlemagne, whose degenerate descendants 
had recourse to the expedient adopted by Ethelred to 
rid England of the Danish invaders, namely, by pur- 
chasing the retreat of the enemies they could not 
resist by arms. In the year 856, the Northmen under 
Hastings ravaged the country for two years, and their 
leader received the province of Chartres from Charles 
the Bald. Another leader, Regnier, agreed with the 
same king that the Northmen should evacuate France 
upon payment of seven thousand pounds weight of 
silver. The same monarch had also to purchase the 
retreat of other leaders at an equally costly price. 
Speed says that Charles le Gros gave his daughter to 
Godfrey, a leader of the Normans. 

In Rollo, however, the Franks found an invader 
who was not disposed to forego, for a sum of money, 
the opportunity of founding a powerful state. Accord- 
ing to many authorities, Rollo, or Rolf, was of the 
blood-royal of Norway. Playfair calls him the son, 
by a first wife, of Regenwald, cousin to Harald the 
Fair-haired, great grandson maternally of Olaus, King 
of Norway, and grandson by the father's side, of The- 
botan, Duke of Sleswick and Stormarce. Sir James 
Mackintosh calls Rollo the son of Regenwald, Jarl 
or Prince of Orkney. Thierry states that Rollo was 
son of Rognvald, a jarl or chief of the highest rank 
at the court of King Harald. The Sagas of Iceland 
also record, that after Harald Harfager gained his 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 35 

great victory in 855, he appointed Rognevald (the 
modern Ronald) to be Jarl or Earl of Orkney, and 
that one of his sons was Hrolf, or Rollo. All these 
authorities agree, therefore, in fixing the paternity of 
Rollo. 

Rollo, banished from his native country by Harald, 
sought an asylum and independence in other lands, 
and after attempting a descent upon England (although 
this is doubted by some writers), he sailed for France, 
when he succeeded in settling his head quarters at 
Rouen, in the year 876. He defeated Charles the 
Simple, and profiting by his victory, marched on to 
Paris ; and although in a subsequent battle, Rollo 
was routed with great loss at Chartres in 911, owing 
chiefly to the exertions of the famous Robert, Count 
of Paris, yet his numbers were so formidable, and the 
excesses committed by his followers so great, that 
Charles, to put a stop to the war, agreed to give his 
daughter Gisla, or Giselle 2 in marriage to Rollo, with 
Neustria, since called Normandy, for her dowry, on 
condition that the chief and his companions should be 
baptized in the Christian faith. These terms were 
accepted by Rollo, who, in the act of homage for his 



2 " Gille, une moie fille, Ii donrait a moillier, 
E la terre marine, s'il s'i vout otrier, 
Dezu Oure curt tresk 'al Mont Saint Michel." 

ROMAN. DE ROU. 



36 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

new dominions, performed the well known act of 
rudeness, in overturning the king to the ground, 
recorded by Wace. 3 Rollo soon after demanded and 
obtained the province of Britany, in addition to Nor- 
mandy, and being invested with the ducal authority, 
was baptized by the name of Robert, and received the 
hand of Charles's daughter. 

Rollo, or Rou, as he was popularly called, encou- 
raged artizans and husbandmen to settle in his newly 
acquired principality, promoted justice, and punished 
robbers. He had no children by Giselle, but by 
Papia, or Poppa, 4 daughter of Berenger, Count of 
Bayeux, he had a son, William, to whom, in 926, the 



3 " Rou devint horn li Roiz e sis mainz li livra; 
Quant dut li pie beisier, baissier ne daingna ; 
La main tendi aval, li pie el Rei leva, 
A sa buche le traist e li Rei enversa; 
Asez en ristrent tint e li Rei se drescha." 

ROMAN. DE ROU. 

Many writers assert that Rollo performed the homage through 
one of his soldiers, who was the person that overturned the 
king; but Wace is most likely to be correct in attributing both 
acts to Rollo himself. 

4 Nobilissimam puellam, nomine Popam, filiam scilicet Be- 
rengarii illustris viri, capiens, non multo post, more Danico, sibi 

COpulavit. WILLELM. G1.MET. 

" But then he wedded Pepam the syster fayre 

Of Duke Robert of Normandy and Roone, 

On whome he gate William Lis sonne and heire." 

HARDYNG, p. 205. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 37 

great nobles of the duchy swore fidelity, as to their 
future prince. Rollo died in the year 931. 

William, surnamed Longsword, was naturally of 
a peaceable disposition, and preferring the quiet of a 
cloister to the turmoil of a camp, was anxious to be- 
come a monk in the abbey of Jumieges, which he had 
rebuilt, and twice met with the refusal of his nobles 
to his request. Yet when required by circumstances 
to exert himself, William showed that he inherited 
the valour and conduct of his father. He was mur- 
dered in 942-3 by his pretended friend, but really 
bitter enemy, Arnold I. Count of Flanders. By Sprota, 
or Sporta, daughter of Haribert, Earl of Senlis, he 
was father of Richard, who succeeded him. 

Duke Richard I., called Sans-Peur, was born 
in 933, and being only ten years old at his father's 
death, a regency was established during his minority, 
which was much troubled by the attempts of Louis 
d'Outre-mer, King of France (who judged it a fitting 
opportunity to restore Normandy to the crown), and 
the crafty Arnold of Flanders, to seize upon the young 
William's person and territories. He showed great 
valour at an early age, and received knighthood from 
the hand of the famous Hugh, Count of Paris, his 
confederate against Louis and Arnold, and by whom 
he was appointed in 955 guardian to his son Hugh 
Capet, afterwards King of France, whose sister Agnes 
was, according to Speed, the first wife of Duke Ri- 



38 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

chard, but of this marriage there was no issue. By 
his second wife, Gunora, of Danish birth, 5 he had six 
children; 1. Richard, his successor, 2. Robert, 
archbishop of Rouen, 3. Mauger, Earl of Corbeil, 

4. Emma, married to Ethelred II. King of England, 

5. Hadwige, married to Geoffry, Duke of Britany, 

6. Matilda, espoused to Odo, Earl of Chartres. 
Richard the Fearless died in 996, after an eventful 

reign of fifty-five years, with an unblemished reputa- 
tion for courage, mildness, justice, and every princely 
virtue. Duke Richard proved his munificence and 
piety by building the first cathedral of Rouen, and the 
earliest church of Saint Ouen, in the same city, the 
church of the Trinity at Fecamp, and the Abbey of 
Saint Wandrille. 

Duke Richard II., deservedly named the Good, 
by the people who owned his paternal sway, was thrice 
married. His first wife was Judith, daughter of the 
Duke of Britany, by whom he had three sons and 
three daughters ; 1. Richard, afterwards fifth Duke, 
but who died without legitimate issue, 2. Robert, 
who became sixth duke, 3. William, a monk, 4. Alice, 
who married Renauld, Earl of Burgundy, by whom 
she had Guy, who claimed the duchy on the death of 
Robert le Diable, 5. Eleanora, married to Baldwin IV. 
Earl of Flanders ; their granddaughter Matilda, be- 

5 Guuora's brother, Herfast, is called " a noble Dane." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 39 

came a queen of England as the Conqueror's wife, 
6. Papia, who became the wife of Guilbert Saint 
Valery. 

On the death of the duchess Judith, Richard mar- 
ried Estrita, sister of Canute, 6 who at the same time 
espoused Emma, sister of Richard, and widow of 
King Ethelred, with the express condition that the 
children of Emma's first marriage should rule in 
England, failing issue by her second husband. 

Duke Richard's third wife was Papia, a Danish 
lady, who bore him two sons, Mauger, the famous 
archbishop of Rouen, and William, Count of Arques. 
Richard died in 1026-7, and was succeeded by his 
eldest son, Richard III., whose reign lasted only a 
few months, when Robert his brother became sixth 
Duke of Normandy. 

Robert, surnamed the Devil, from his extermi- 
nating policy, and also the Magnificent^ had rendered 
great service to Henry I., King of France, who agreed 
to become guardian to the duke's base born son, the 
celebrated William, when Robert against the wishes 
of his nobles, but in compliance with the feelings of 
the times, determined to make a pilgrimage to the 
Holy Land as an expiation for the cruelties of which 
he had been guilty. 

6 Sir James Mackintosh has made a mistake in stating that 
Duke Robert, father of the Conqueror, married Estrita. Hist, 
of England, voJ. i. p. 91. 



40 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

The mother of William is called by some Arleta, 
and Harlota, and whilst many writers style her the 
daughter of a citizen of Falaise, others contend that 
her father was Fulbert, Lord of Croy, whilst it is 
certain that she became the wife of Duke Robert's 
chamberlain Harlaven, or Harloween de Burgo, Lord 
of Conteville, 7 a powerful Norman noble, descended 
from Charlemagne ; and the early English chroniclers, 
as if to reconcile the nation in some degree to the 
Norman dynasty, sought to trace the blood of Edmund 
Ironside in the mother of Arleta. 8 

Duke Robert visited Pope Boniface IX. on his way 
to the Holy Sepulchre, but on his return, being seized 
with a fever, died in the year 1035, and was buried 
at Nice. 



7 "Harlowin de Comitis Villa, and his wife Herlot, mother 
to the Conqueror." clover. 

8 Thomas Rudborne quotes from a very ancient chronicle, 
" Edmund (Ironside) had two sons, Edwin and Edward, and 
also an only daughter, whose name does not appear in history 
because of her bad life, for she was guilty of an illicit intercourse 
with the king's skinner." Being banished from England, they 
settled at Falaise, and had there three daughters, one of whom 
was Arleta, who, attracting by her great beauty the attention 
of Duke Robert, became the mother of the future Conqueror, 
wbo, if this account be true, is descended from Egbert, as 
are all the other kings of England, Saxon or Norman. Mr. 
Blore in his history of Rutland calls Arleta the daughter of 
Fulbert, Lord of Croy in Picardy. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 41 

William, second of that name, and seventh duke, 
surnamed in his own time the " Bastard," 9 but known 
more commonly since as the " Conqueror," was only 
ten years old when his father died, who had before 
his departure for Palestine, assembled the states of the 
duchy, and engaged the nobles to swear allegiance to 
his son, although illegitimate, in case of his own death 
abroad. When that event occurred, the regency had 
to defend the young duke's dominions against Roger, 
Count of Toni, Alain, Count of Britany, and against 
Henry I. King of France, who, forgetting the assist- 
ance he had received from Duke Robert, hoped to 
profit by the youth of his successor to recover the 
province of Normandy. A claim to the rightful suc- 
cession of the duchy was set up by Guy of Britany, 
grandson of Duke Richard II., and many of the great 
nobles fomented the animosities against William, and 
the province became a scene of disorder. 

But as the young duke approached to maturity, he 
discovered qualities of the highest order, which pro- 
mised to render him inferior to none of his renowned 
ancestors. " The day when he for the first time put 
on armour, and mounted, without a stirrup, his first 
war-charger, was a day of rejoicing in Normandy." 10 

9 Although William severely punished sarcastic or ill-timed 
allusions to his birth, yet he did not scruple to use this term in 
his charters and public documents. 

10 Thierry, History of the Norman Conquest, Book III. 



42 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

By his valour in the field, and address in the cabinet, 
William succeeded in all his undertakings ; he reduced 
his turbulent nobles to submission, expelled the pre- 
tenders to the sovereignty, and obliged the King of 
France to make a peace on favourable terms ; and by 
his personal courage and good policy raised himself to 
the first rank among his contemporaries, a position 
which was of the greatest importance to him when he 
contemplated the invasion of England, since nobles 
and chieftains of the highest rank and power were 
eager to enrol themselves under the banner of so 
renowned a warrior. In fact the flower of the chivalry 
of that warlike age, enlisted their services with the 
adventurous Norman, and chief among his companions 
in arms, to whom William held out dazzling rewards 
for their services, we find the names of Eustace, 
Count of Boulogne, Aimeri de Thouars, Alan the 
Red, and Brian, Counts of Britany (brothers) with five 
thousand men, Hugh d'Estaples, William D'Evreux, 
Geoffry de Rotrou, Roger de Bellomont, William de 
Warrenne, and Ralph de Mortemar, Roger de Mont- 
gomery and William Fitz-Osberne, Count of Breteuil, 
and constable of the duchy, Hugh de Grantmesnil, 
Charles Martel, Waiter Giffard, Count of Longue- 
ville, Robert, Earl of Mortaigne, Robert, Earl of 
Eu, and Gilbert de Gant, 11 with many other brave 

11 Many of these warriors were closely allied by blood or 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 43 

adventurers, among whom we discover the heads of 
some of the noblest and best families extant in 
England. 12 

By the exertions of these leaders a splendid arma- 
ment of sixty thousand chosen men, and three thou- 
sand vessels, was assembled to make a descent upon 
the coast of England, in support of William's preten- 
sions against Harold's possession of the throne of this 
country ; and in order that nothing might be omitted 
which could add to his chances of success, he carried 
with him a consecrated banner from Pope Alexander 
II., who had excommunicated Harold as a perjured 
usurper. The emperor Henry IV. likewise embraced 



marriage to the Conqueror ; Eustace of Boulogne was son of 
King Ethelred's daughter Goda; Alan and Brian, the Breton 
princes, were descended from a daughter of Duke Richard the 
Fearless; William de Warrenne and Ralph de Mortemar (both 
ancestors of her present Majesty), whom the Conqueror called 
his cousins, were descended from Nicholas (son of Baudry the 
German), who married the niece of the duchess Gunora; Wil- 
liam Fitz-Osberne was son of Osherne de Crepon, son of Her- 
fastus, brother of Gunora ; Roger de Montgomeri was grandson 
of Weva, sister to Gunora; Walter Giffard descended from 
Aveline, another sister ; the Earl of Mortaigne was half-brother 
to the Conqueror, being son of Harlaven de Burgo and Ar- 
leta ; the Earl of Eu was the duke's uncle ; and Gilbert de 
Gant, or Ghent, was his nephew, being grandson of Baldwin V. 
Earl of Flanders, father of Matilda, wife of the future Conque- 
ror. 

12 See Appendix. Companions of the Conqueror. A. 



44 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the duke's cause by not only granting his nobles per- 
mission to join in the projected invasion, but also by 
engaging to protect Normandy during William's ab- 
sence. 

The battle of Hastings, the issue of which was to 
decide whether England was to be ruled by native or 
foreign princes, was fought on the 14th day of Octo- 
ber, 1066. To the splendid array of William's chi- 
valry, flushed with the hope of conquest, and confident 
in their leader, Harold (who had been elected king 13 
the day after the Confessor's funeral), had to oppose 
an inferior army, harassed by forced marches from their 
recent victory over the Norwegians at Standford, (Sep- 
tember 25th) and weakened by desertion. His valiant 
brother Gurth in vain urged Harold not to risk his 
kingdom in a pitched battle, which it was William's 
interest to hasten, but to seek to exhaust the Norman 
force by delay and vexatious skirmishes ; moreover, 
he strongly implored him, in consideration of the vow 
he had taken upon the holy relics which bound him 
to support the pretensions of the duke, to entrust the 
command to one who, not being constrained by such 

13 " Herolde by strengthe then crouned was for kynge, 
Forsworne that was upon the evangelystes 
For to crowne Edgar Athelynge, 
And hym protecte and defende in all wyse 
Unto his age, that none the realme suppryse." 

HARDYNG, p. 233. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 45 

a tie, might inspire his soldiers with better grounded 
hopes of success than they would feel under the lead- 
ing of one who was perjured, and under the ban of 
the church. But Harold elated by his late victory, 
and carried away by his courage, would not listen to 
this well-timed counsel, but resolved to engage the 
invaders without delay. The Norman army consisted 
of three divisions ; the first, led by the constable Mont- 
gomery, consisting of archers and light-armed infantry; 
the second, commanded by Charles Martel, was com- 
posed of heavy armed battalions ; the duke headed in 
person his third line comprised of cavalry. But not- 
withstanding the superior numbers and discipline of 
the mail-clad Normans, they made but little impression 
upon the hardy valour of the English, and not until 
William had resorted to the expedient of a feigned 
retreat, and the brave Harold and his valiant brothers 
Gurth and Leofric were slain, did the English give 
way, after having fought from sunrise to sunset. 

William without loss of time marched on to London 
and was crowned by Aldred, archbishop of York, 14 as 



14 William refused to be crowned by Stigand the primate, 
wlio had intruded into the see of Canterbury, on the expulsion 
of the duke's friend William the Norman, which formed one of 
the Conqueror's grave charges against Harold ; he had also 
assisted to proclaim Edgar the Atheling after the death of 
Harold ; it appears too that Stigand had placed the crown upon 
the head of Harold himself, a fact which is borne out by the 



46 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

King of England, Dec. 26, 1066, amidst the accla- 
mations of the triumphant Normans and over-awed 
Saxons, and thus became the first of a new dynasty, 
whose descendants in blood ever since have occupied 
the throne of this kingdom. 15 From this time the 
duchy of Normandy becomes of secondary importance, 
being merged in the superior lustre of the realm of 
England. 

The arms borne by the dukes of Normandy, were, 
" Gules, two lions passant gardant or ;" and these 
became the armorial bearings of England. In the 
next chapter allusion is made to the different names 
given to the animals borne by the dukes of Normandy, 
and from them assumed by the kings of England. 
Yet this apparent contradiction may be reconciled by 
the statement of Edmondson, who observes that " the 
word leopard is always made use of by the French 
heralds, to express in their language, a lion full faced, 
and which the English call gardant." Complete Body 
of Heraldry, p. 183. Note. 

Bayeux tapestry, as well as by the testimony of Ordericus 
Vitalis and others. 

15 From the loins of the Conqueror is descended every sove- 
reign who has filled the English throne, not even excepting him 
of Nassau, the third William, whose mother was the Princess 
Mary, daughter of King Charles I. Through his daughter Gun- 
dred, wife of William de Warrenne, and grandmother of Ada, 
Countess of Huntingdon, the Conqueror is also a progenitor of 
Robert the Bruce and succeeding kings of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 47 



CHAPTER IV. 

" Thus come, lo ! Engelond into Norrnannes honde." 

ROB. OF GLOUCESTER, p. 364. 

" The King William vor to wite the wurth of his lond, 
Let enqueri stretlich thoru alle Englond, 
Hou moni plou-land, and hou moni hiden also, 
Were in euerich scire, and wat hij were wurth yereto." 

p. 364. 

The Norman Dynasty from William the 
Conqueror to Henry the Second. 

WILLIAM, who was born a. d. 1024, "thus 
possessed of the throne by a pretended desti- 
nation of King Edward, and by an irregular election 
of the people, but still more by force of arms, retired 
from London to Barking in Essex, and there received 
the submission of all the nobility who had attended 
his coronation." 1 



1 Hume, Hist, of England. Sir James Mackintosh observes 
in reference to the supposed disposition of King Edward in his 
kinsman's favour, " that the claim of William founded on the 
alleged bequest of the Confessor, though not proved, was hard 
to disprove." It must excite a smile, however, to find William 
styling himself king by hereditary succession : " Ego Willelmus 
E 



48 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

The Atheling Edgar, who had been crowned imme- 
diately after Harold's death, submitted to his too 
powerful rival, who, instead of showing jealousy of 
Edgar's claim, confirmed him in the honours of the 
earldom of Oxford, which Harold had bestowed upon 
him, and affected to treat him with the greatest kind- 
ness as the nephew of " his cousin and most dear lord 
Edward." 2 Yet amidst the confidence which he ex- 
pressed for the English, William took care to place 
the real power in the hands of his Normans by quar- 
tering them in various parts of the kingdom, and be- 
stowing the forfeited estates of those who had fought 
against him upon his favourite captains and their 
followers. 

To fix his newly acquired sovereignty the more 
firmly upon the English nation, William had recourse 
to every expedient to break the spirit of the natives, 
who, though constantly breaking out into insurrections, 
were not long able to contend against the politic and 
warlike Conqueror. 3 Attainders and forfeitures were 



rex haereditario jure factus." The sad truth was indeed spoken 
when at other times he alluded to his having obtained the king- 
dom by the sword. " Regnum Anglorum ore gladii adeptus 
sum." 

2 Edgar the Atheling. See Appendix B. 

3 The last Saxon who held out against the Conqueror was 
one of her present Majesty's ancestors, the famous Herewald, or 
Hereward de Wake (called by Hume only Hereward) a noble- 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 49 

consequent upon these attempts ; the estates of the 
ancient Saxon nobility were bestowed upon the Nor- 
man adventurers, and themselves reduced to beggary, 
and carefully excluded from every office of trust and 
emolument; nor was it until nearly a century after 
the Conquest that a person of English descent ob- 
tained any station of importance. 4 

Amidst all his glories, William experienced great 
trouble in his own family ; his second son Richard 
was killed by a stag in the New Forest ; 5 his eldest 



man of East Anglia, spoken of by Speed as "a very valiant 
knight," and by Brompton as "Herewardus strenuissimus," 
whose extraordinary daring and feats of personal prowess and 
romantic adventures strongly remind one of the great William 
Wallace. 

From his inaccessible refuge in the Isle of Ely, Hereward 
made continual and harassing inroads upon the surrounding 
country, and became a formidable rallying point for the dis- 
affected against William's government, until at length, charmed 
with his bravery, the king received him into favour, and restored 
to him his estates, of which, although absent abroad during the 
time of the Conquest, he had been deprived. From him came 
the Wakes, Lords of Liddell and Burne, and his lineal descend- 
ant, Margaret Wake, was married to Edmund of Woodstock, 
and by him became mother of Joan the " Fair maid of Kent," 
from whom Edward IV. was fifth in descent. See Table XVIII. 

4 The celebrated Thomas a Becket is said to have been the 
first Englishman advanced to high office since the Conquest, he 
was made chancellor a. d. 1157, and archbishop of Canterbury 
in 1162. 

5 Probably no occurrence in the Conqueror's reign roused 



50 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

son Robert, excited by Odo, bishop of Bayeux, Wil- 
liam's uterine brother, broke out into open rebellion, 
and attempted to wrest Normandy from his father. 

In the year 1087, King William, excited by the 
indiscreet raillery of Philip, the French monarch, 6 
proceeded to wage war upon him, when his career of 
glory and his life were cut short by the effects of an 
accident, of which he died, Sept. 10. 

A bitter commentary on greatness was afforded 
when the once mighty Conqueror and leader of armies 
breathed his last, by the immediate desertion of all 
around his death-bed, except his faithful step-father 
Harlaven de Burgo, and still more when the body 
was refused the rites of burial, until the claim of 
Asselin son of Arthur was compensated. 

In the year 1053, William had married Matilda, 

more dislike in Lis English subjects than his cruel un-peopling 
of great part of Hampshire to make a chace ; and when in addi- 
tion to the death of Prince Richard (1081), and of another 
Richard (1100), son of Duke Robert, called Henry by Glover, 
William Rufus lost his life in the same forest, these continued 
catastrophes were ascribed to the just vengeance of Providence, 
for churches destroyed, villages rooted out, and their inhabitants 
dispersed. 

6 Owing to his corpulency, William kept his bed by the 
advice of his physicians. " Quand est-ce dont que ce gros 
homme accouchera 1" was Philip's scornful question ; William 
heard of it, and sent a bitter reply : " J'irai faire mes rele- 
vailles a Notre Dame de Paris, avec dix mille lances en guise 
de cierges." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 51 

daughter of Baldwin V. Earl of Flanders, by Adela, 
granddaughter of Hugh Capet ; from this marriage 
were four sons and six daughters, viz. 1. Robert, to 
whom his father left Normandy and Maine ; 2. Ri- 
chard ; 7 3. William, to whom he left England by will ; 
4. Henry, to whom he left no territory, foretelling 
that he would one day surpass both his brothers in 
power. The daughters were, 1. Cicely, abbess of the 
Holy Trinity at Caen, founded by her mother Ma- 
tilda ; 2. Constance, married to Alan Fergent, Earl 
of Britany ; 3. Alice, contracted to Harold ; 4. Adela, 
married to Stephen, Earl of Blois; 5. Agatha, be- 
trothed to the King of Gallicia ; 6. Gundred, 8 married 
to William de Warrenne, first Earl of Warren and 
Surrey, a kinsman of the Conqueror, and one of his 
companions in arms at Hastings. 9 

7 M. Thierry, in his History of the Norman Conquest, calls 
Richard eldest son of the Conqueror, but this assertion is not 
borne out by any authority. 

8 Gundred is altogether omitted in the list of William's 
daughters, by Hume and many authorities. By 6ir N. Harris 
Nicholas, she is called Gunnora, which was the name of the 
Conqueror's great graudmother, the duchess of Kichard the 
Fearless. 

9 The arms which the Conqueror bore as King of England, 
are the same as those which belonged to him as Duke of Nor- 
mandy, viz. " Gules, two lions passant gardant or," the third 
lion was not used until the time of Henry II., who added it for 
the reason given in his reign ; yet M. Thierry more than once 
speaks of the standard of the three golden lions of the Conqueror. 



52 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Hume, in summing- up the character of William, 
says, " Few princes have been more fortunate than 
this great monarch, or were better entitled to grandeur 
and prosperity, from the ability and vigour of mind 
which he displayed in all his conduct. His spirit was 
bold and enterprising, yet guided by prudence ; his 
ambition, which was exorbitant, and lay little under 
the restraints of justice, still less under those of 
humanity, ever submitted to the dictates of sound 
policy. His attempt against England was the last 
great enterprise of the kind, which during the course 
of seven hundred years, has fully succeeded in Europe; 
and though he rendered himself infinitely odious to 
his English subjects, he transmitted his power to his 
posterity, and the throne is still filled by his descend- 



Foreign antiquaries and poets of all countries term the heraldic 
animal of England's shield a leopard, and hence the boast of 
Napoleon, "I will drive these English leopards into the sea." 
In the first volume of the Antiq. Repert. p. 81, we find among 
the armorial bearings quoted from a MS. of Mr. Borret, " Le 
Roy (Ed. I.) trois leopards pass*, d'or." In the epitaph on 
Edward III., that monarch is styled " Iuvictus Pardus." Mr. 
Porny quotes an early writer, Barthol. Chassaneus, " Rex 
Angliae habet pro armis tres leopardos aureos in campo rubeo." 
So also Sir Walter Scott in Marmion, wherein is described the 
midnight encounter of Alexander, King- of Scots, with the elfin 
form of England's Edward I. 

" Yet arms like England's did he wield, 

Alike the leopards in his shield." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 53 

ants ; a proof that the foundations which he laid were 
firm and solid, and that, amidst all his violence, while 
he seemed only to gratify the present passion, he had 
still an eye towards futurity." By Duncan he is 
aptly styled, " The glory and buckler of Normandy, 
but the curse and scourge of England." 10 A redeem- 
ing trait in William's character is his generous treat- 
ment of Edgar, the last surviving male representative 
of the ancient blood-royal of England. 

" The Normans brought with them into England 
civility and building, which, though it was Gothic, 
was yet magnificent." 11 

After the death of the Conqueror, 12 William Rufus 

10 Hist, of the Dukes of Normandy, a very interesting work. 

11 From the MS. of Mr. Aubery in the Ashmolean Museum, 
Oxford. King William and his queen were great patrons of 
architecture, especially in Normandy, one of the capitals of 
which province they adorned with the sumptuous Abbaye aux 
Hommes (St. Stephen's), and the Abbaye aux Dames (the 
Church of the Holy Trinity); and a feeling of degeneracy, in 
architecture at least, must come over us, when we contemplate 
the stately buildings in Caen, which owe their origin to the 
munificence of the Conqueror and his consort, and which, after 
a lapse of eight centuries, stand in all their integrity and beauty, 
as if to shame the mushroom productions of the reign and capi- 
tal of the Fourth William, productions which fortunately pro- 
mise not long to survive the generation in which they were 
erected. 

12 The term Conqueror is now inseparably connected with 
the name of the first Norman William, yet it does not convey 
the real interpretation of his Latin appellation Conquestor. 



54 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

lost no time in hastening his coronation, 13 sensible 
that despatch was necessary to counterbalance the 
feeling which might arise in favour of Robert, whose 
right of primogeniture was invaded. But the Norman 
barons, who possessed large estates both in England 
and Normandy, were uneasy at the separation of the 
kingdom and duchy, and wished to see them united 
in the person of Robert, whose character, brave, open, 
and generous, they preferred to that of his haughty 
and violent brother. The king, however, crushed 
the rebellion of the barons ; and to punish Robert for 
his share in the transaction, passed over to Normandy, 
when a compromise was effected between the brothers, 
who agreed that on the demise of either without issue, 
the survivor should inherit all his dominions. Soon 
after, Robert, infected with the ruling passion for the 
crusades, sold his dominions, Maine and Normandy, 
to William, for the trifling sum of 10,000 marks. The 
Red King, as he was generally called, 14 was about to 



Thus De Lolme carefully styles him William the Acquirer; 
and thus also, Sir Henry Spelman explains the word, " Con- 
questor dicitur qui Angliam conquisivit, i. e. acquisivit, non quod 
subegit." 

13 « jo William the rede king 

Is gyven the coroun, 

At Westmynstere toke he ryng 

In the abbay of Londoun." peter langtoft, p. 85. 

14 "The Rede Kyng," Robert of Gloucester. "Li Ris 
Ros;" Wace. This monarch had splendid notions of archi tec- 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



55 



take possession of the rich provinces of Poictou and 
Guienne, which William, the earl of those states offered 
to mortgage, when he met with his death from the 
arrow of Walter Tyrrel, in the New Forest, in the 
year 1100. So little respect was paid to the remains 
of this once formidable monarch, that his body was 
carried to Winchester, by a lime-burner in his cart, 15 
and there buried without any ceremony. He left no 
legitimate issue. 

Prince Henry, surnamed Beau-clerc, born at Selby 
in Yorkshire, a. d. 1070, fourth son of the Conqueror, 
and the first who was born in England, was also hunt- 
ing in the New Forest when William Rufus was slain. 
He immediately hurried to Winchester to secure the 



ture. When he had finished the New Hall at the Palace of 
Westminster, it was remarked to him that it was too large, but 
the king, as Fabyan records, ic was therwith disconcerted that it 
was so lytle ;" and as Matthew Paris and others relate, he 
added, " that it was not half the size it should have been, and 
that it was only a bedchamber compared with that which he 
should build." This apartment, thus despised for its littleness, 
is the magnificent " Westminster Hall," one of the noblest 
rooms in Europe, being two hundred and thirty-nine feet in 
length, and sixty-eight in width. 

15 A remarkable instance of uninterrupted descent for cen- 
turies in humble life occurs in the family of the person who 
picked up the body of William Rufus; his name was Purkis, 
and his descendants of the same name (certainly till within a 
quarter of a century), continued to follow the same lowly calling 
of lime-burners in the same spot in the New Forest. A still 



56 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

royal treasure, with which he hastened to London, 
and in three days after his brother's death, was crowned 
king-, by Maurice bishop of London, in defiance of 
the claims of his elder brother Robert, thus for the 
second time deprived of his inheritance. Henry sought 
to gain the affections of his subjects ; to the church 
he made large concessions, to the great barons and 
military tenants he promised that the heavy fines, 
formerly levied in wardships, marriages, and money- 
age, should be remitted, and to the people that he 
would observe the laws of the Confessor. 

But no act was more calculated to render him 
popular with the native English than his marriage 
a. d. 1102, with Matilda, daughter of Malcolm 
III. King of Scotland and Margaret, sister of 
Edgar the Atheling; this princess was dear to the 
nation, who were fondly attached to the memory of 



stronger case of descent, to prove that exalted station alone is 
not necessary to hand down a pedigree, is recorded of a family 
of the name of Wapshot, whose known ancestors flourished in 
the time of Alfred, upon the same property still held hy their 
descendants. " At Ambrose's Barn, on the borders of Thorpe, 
near Chertsey, resides Mr. Wapshot, a farmer, whose ancestors 
have lived on the same spot, ever since the time of Alfred, by 
whom the farm was granted to Reginald Wapshott. Notwith- 
standing the antiquity of this family (can the Howards or Percies 
ascend higher?) their situation in life has never been elevated 
or depressed by any vicissitude of fortune." Atlas, Dec. 5, 
1830. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 57 

their ancient princes, and " who hoped for a more 
equal and merciful administration, when the blood of 
their native princes should be mingled with that of 
their new sovereigns." 16 At the time of her marriage, 
Matilda, whose name was changed from Editha, 17 was 
an orphan, and had been educated under her aunt 
Christina, abbess of Rumsey. 18 She was much be- 
loved by the people, who called her the " good Queen 
Mold," and for whom she entreated her husband's 
love. 19 The early chroniclers speak of this alliance, 
as if in their estimation it conferred honour upon the 
Norman. " King Henry married Maud, or Mold, 
daughter of Malcolm King of Scots, and of Margaret 
the good queen, the relation of King Edward, and the 
right kingly kin of England." (Sax. Chron. 20 ) Nis- 
bet says that, in testimony of this union of the Norman 
and English blood, Henry on his seal (Sigillum Ima- 

16 Hume. 

17 Lingard, cum aliis. 

18 In the romance of " Ivanhoe," Sir Walter Scott has. con- 
founded the identity of Matilda, queen of Henry I., with that of 
her daughter, the empress Matilda. See Chapter xxiv. 

" Mold the gode queene gaf in conseile, 

To luf his folc." ROBERT BRUNNE. 

20 So also Eadmer, who calls her, " Mathildis filia Margareta? 
quae scitur exorta de semine regum Anglorum." Yet it must 
not he forgotten that Henry I., was, through his mother, eighth 
in descent from Alfred the Great, from whom Queen Mold was 
derived in exactly the same degree. 



58 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

ginis) is represented on a throne, holding in his right 
hand a globe, with a bird upon it, being the martlet 
of the Saxon kings. And Sandford observes that, 
" it was a token or emblem of the restoration in some 
sort of Edward the Confessor's kin and laws." 21 

" But the policy and prudence of Henry, which, if 
time had been allowed for those virtues to produce 
their full effect, would have secured him possession of 
the crown, ran great hazard of being frustrated by the 
sudden appearance of Robert, who returned to Nor- 
mandy about a month after the death of his brother 
William. He took possession without opposition of 
that duchy, and immediately made preparations for 
recovering England." 22 

Among the many great and illustrious crusaders 
none had distinguished themselves more than Duke 
Robert, whose intrepid courage and boundless gene- 
rosity had rendered him an universal favourite; and 
even the crown of Jerusalem was offered to him in 
acknowledgment of his valour. Robert, surnamed 
Court-hose, in his way from Palestine through Italy, 
married Sybilla, daughter of Geffry, Earl of Conver- 
sana, 23 of Norman extraction, and his native indolence 

21 On the seals of the preceding kings, they hold a globe with 
a cross formy resting on it. 

22 Hume. 

23 Robert Glover states that Sybilla's father was Roger of 
Conversaria, Earl of Apulia. Cat. of Honor. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



59 



and desire of repose after his campaign, led him to 
linger a twelvemonth in the south, and he thus a 
second time lost the kingdom to which he was entitled. 
Robert's cause was warmly espoused by several power- 
ful barons, who encouraged him to invade England ; 
but when the two armies had been in each other's 
sight for some days, an action was prevented by the 
interposition of the primate Anselm, when it was 
agreed that Robert should resign his pretensions for 
an annual pension of three thousand marks, and that 
if either prince died without issue, the other should 
succeed to his dominions, and thus a second time 
Duke Robert was outwitted by the superior address 
of a younger brother ; but indeed he seems to have 
had no qualities for the cabinet, however fitted to 
command in the field ; accordingly, his own duchy 
fell into the greatest disorder from his relaxed system 
of government, of which Henry took the advantage, 
and entering Normandy with a powerful army, en- 
countered his brother at Tinchebrai, where, although 
Robert performed the part of a skilful general and 
gallant soldier, victory declared in favour of the king, 
who took ten thousand prisoners, among whom was 
the unfortunate duke. His son William fell into 
Henry's hands soon after, and all Normandy sub- 
mitted to him, and thus was fulfilled the prediction of 
the Conqueror. Henry carried his brother with him 
into England, and confined him in Cardiff Castle, 



60 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

until his death in 1134, after a captivity of twenty- 
eight years. Matthew Paris relates, that Robert, 
attempting to escape from his prison, had his eyes 
put out by order of his brother, but M. Thierry infers 
a doubt of this cruelty. 

The fate of Prince William, son of Duke Robert, 
may be here recorded. Escaping the snares of his 
uncle, he grew to manhood, and was protected by the 
French king, Louis le Gros, and received from him 
the hand of Joan, sister of that monarch's queen 
Alice, who were daughters of Humbert, Count of 
Maurienne. Prince William, who is called by some 
writers Crito, by others Courte-cuisse, by Mr. Dun- 
can Cliton, and by Speed by the Latin word Miser, 
had been affianced to Sybilla, daughter of Fulk, Count 
of Anjou ; and his death without issue, in 1128, in 
a skirmish before Alost, removed every cause of jea- 
lousy from Henry. 

In the year 1118, May 1, King Henry lost his 
excellent consort, the good Queen Mold, 54 who had 
borne him a son, William, 25 and a daughter, called 
after herself, Matilda. 

In 1120 the king had the misfortune to lose his 

24 Queen Matilda was buried at Winchester, the epitaph on 
her tomb recorded " Hie jacet Matildis regina . . ab Anglis 
vocata Mold the good queen." thom. rudborne. 

25 According to the old chroniclers she bore another son, 
Richard. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 61 

son, who, in the eighteenth year of his age, was 
drowned in returning from Normandy, when a hun- 
dred and forty young noblemen shared his fate. Prince 
William had married Sybilla, daughter of Fulk, called 
Tailboys by Hardyng, Count of Anjou (formerly 
affianced to William Cliton), but left no issue ; his 
death so much affected the king, that he was never 
seen to smile afterwards. In the hope of having male 
issue, Henry in 1121 married Adelais, or Adeliza, 
daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Louvaine, 26 and, accord- 
ing to Heylin, first Duke of Brabant, but no children 
resulted from this alliance. 

Henry had now only one legitimate surviving child, 
his daughter Matilda, widow of the emperor Henry 
V. (a descendant of Henry the Fowler), who died in 
1126, and on account of this high alliance, she through 
life retained the title of Empress ; she had no issue 
by Henry V., and in the year 1127 she was married 
to the young, handsome, and brave Geoffry Plan- 
t a genet, then only sixteen years of age, son of 

26 After the death of Henry L, his widow Adelais married 
William de Albini, who became Earl of Arundel, in her right 
of possessing the Castle of Arundel, although Heylin states 
that the empress Maud created him Earl of Arundel for his ser- 
vices in her cause during her brief reign. A brother of Queen 
Adelais was Joscelyn of Louvain, who married Agnes, daughter 
and heiress of William de Percie, and assuming his wife's name, 
became ancestor of the Earls of Northumberland of that family, 
and through females, of the present Duke of Northumberland. 



62 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Foulk V., Count of Anjou, 27 whose daughter, as we 
have seen, had been married to Prince William. 
From the union of Matilda with the House of Anjou, 
or Plantagenet, springs the Royal House of England, 
and with the exception of Stephen, every succeeding 
sovereign. Their eldest son, born in 1132, who was 
called Henry Fitz-empress, became king after the 
death of Stephen. Matilda had two other sons, 
Geoffry, Earl of Nantes, who died a. d. 1157, and 
William, Earl of Poictou, who died a. d. 1163. 

Geoffrey Plantagenet is derived from Foulk 
" le Rouge," first Earl of Anjou, who died in 938, 
and whose son and successor was Foulk II., called 
" le Bon," who died 958, father of Geoffry " Grisego- 
nelle," 28 who died 987, whose son was Foulk III., 
surnamed " Nerra/' or the Black, who had a daughter, 
Ermengarde, who became heir to her brother Geoffry 
Martel, who died 1060 ; she married Geoffry, Earl of 
Gatinois, and their son, Foulk IV., called " Rechin," 29 



27 The arms of the Counts of Anjou were, " Gules, three 
pales vairy, a chief or." 

28 Geoffrey Grisegonelle was made seneschal of France by 
King Robert, on account of his eminent services against the 
Emperor Otho. 

29 A daughter of Foulk Rechin, who died 1106, married 
Alan Fergant, Earl of Brittany and Richmond. Foulk IV. was 
contemporary with Philip I. of France, to whom he ceded the 
lordship of Gatinois. boulainvilliers. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 63 

succeeded to the earldom of Anjou, after his brother 
Geoffrey the Bearded, and was father of Foulk V., 
whose son Geoffrey married the Empress Matilda. 

The origin of the surname of Plantagenet is thus 
accounted for by Rapin : " Fulk, the great Count of 
Anjou, being stung with remorse for some wicked 
action, in order to atone for it, went a pilgrimage to 
Jerusalem, and before the Holy Sepulchre was soundly 
scourged with broom twigs, which grew in great plenty 
there ; whence he ever after took the name of Planta- 
genet, or Broom-stalk, which was continued by his 
noble posterity." 30 By earlier authorities the cogno- 
men is said to be taken from Geoffrey's custom of 
placing a full-blossomed branch of the yellow broom 
(Planta-genistae) by way of plume in his helm. The 
two accounts may be reconciled, if we suppose that 
Geoffrey assumed this badge in allusion to his ances- 
tor's humiliation. 31 

Foulk, after his son's marriage, being a widower, 
(his first wife was Eremberga, daughter of Helier, 
Count of Maine, 32 ) married Melesinda, or Mellicent, 



" w - Vol. i. p. 524, note. 

31 By many writers, Skinner and Buck among the number, 
the circumstance of the scourging with broom-twigs is said to 
have occurred to Foulk Martel, Earl of Anjou, in the tenth 
century, as an atonement for the murder of his nephew Drogo, 
Earl of Brittany. 

32 Sandford. 



G4 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

daughter of Baldwin II., King of Jerusalem, to which 
dignity Foulk succeeded on Baldwin's death. 33 

In the year 1135 King Henry, about to make a 
visit to England, died at Dennises in Normandy, in 
the sixty-seventh year of his age, and thirty-fifth of 
his reign, leaving. by will his daughter Matilda heir to 
all his lands " on both sides the sea ;" and having 
taken the precaution on two occasions, once at Wind- 
sor before her second marriage, and again at Rouen 
after the birth of her son, to make the nobles of 
England and Normandy swear allegiance to her and her 
children as his successors. No mention was made of 
Geoffrey in his father-in-law's testament, a coolness 
having arisen between them. 

Among the foremost 34 of those barons eager to take 
the oath of fealty to Matilda, during her father's life- 
time, was her cousin, Stephen of Blois, Count of 
Boulogne, who was second son of Stephen, Earl of 
Blois, by Adela, fourth and favourite daughter of the 
Conqueror. Yet no sooner was Henry dead than 
Stephen hurried to England, and by his friends repre- 
senting that the late king had expressed an intention 
of leaving him heir to all his dominions, induced the 



33 Many writers fall into the error of supposing that Geoffrey's 
mother was Mellicent, from his being called the son of the King 
of Jerusalem. 

34 Et primus omnium comes Blesensis. matth. paris. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 65 

primate William, archbishop of Canterbury, to crown 
him, on the 22nd December, a. d. 1135. 

But although Stephen was supported in his usurpa- 
tion by many of the barons, by the clergy, and by a 
large body of mercenaries, which he was able to keep 
in pay from the late king's treasure which he had 
seized at Winchester, Matilda was not wanting in 
friends. Her natural brother, the famous Robert, 
Earl of Gloucester, son of Henry, by the fair Rosa- 
mond Clifford, only waited for a favourable opportu- 
nity to recover for her the inheritance to which she 
was entitled; and her uncle David, King of Scots, 
marched at the head of an army into England to 
support her title, but was met at Northallerton by 
Stephen's troops, under the command of William de 
Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, when the battle of the 
Standard was fought, August 22, 1138, in which the 
Scots were defeated, and David and his son narrowly 
escaped being made prisoners. 

The Empress Matilda landed in England Sept. 22, 
a. d. 1139, with her brother Robert, and in a battle 
fought near Lincoln, Feb. 2, 1141, Stephen was 
defeated and taken prisoner, after performing prodi- 
gies of valour. In consequence of this success, Ma- 
tilda was acknowledged Queen of England, and 
was crowned with great solemnity at Winchester, by 
Henry, bishop of that see, who was brother of Ste- 
phen, in whose elevation to the throne he had been 



66 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

mainly instrumental. 35 But Matilda's haughty and 
violent temper ill fitted her to govern, and a revolt 
among the citizens of London caused her flight from 
that city ; and in the siege which she afterwards laid 
to Winchester, whose bishop had deserted her cause 
for that of Stephen, the queen had the misfortune to 
see her gallant brother taken prisoner, when he was 
shortly after exchanged against Stephen, and the war 
between the rival cousins continued for several years, 
until in 1153, Stephen, having lost his son Eustace, 36 
entered into a compact with Matilda's son Henry, by 
which it was agreed that Stephen should enjoy the 
throne in peace during his life, and that Matilda's son 
should succeed him. In this agreement, the empress 
Maud was altogether passed over ; she died A. d. 
1167, and on her tomb an inscription was placed, 
which is thus translated by Speed: 37 — 



35 " Maud thus established, all now esteemed her as Fortune's 
deare-darling, and beheld her as their onely rising-sunne." 

SPEED. 

36 It is strange that M. Thierry, whose accuracy is usually so 
remarkable, should speak of Eustace as the only son of Stephen, 
since he had another son who survived him, William, Earl of 
Surrey, who died in 1160. Speed says he was knighted by 
Henry II., who gave him all his father's earldoms. Stephen's 
queen was Matilda, daughter of Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, by 
Mary, daughter of Malcolm III. and Margaret. 

37 Ortu magna, viro maior, sed maxima prole ; 
Hie jacet Henrici filia, spousa, Parens. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 67 

Here Henrie's mother, daughter, wife doth rest ; 
By birth much, more by spouse, by child most blest. 

Stephen died a. d. 1154, in the sixty-eighth year 
of his age, and in the nineteenth of his reign, 38 when 
Henry Plantagenet mounted the throne as Henry II. 
Before we proceed to the personal history of this 
prince, it will be necessary to mention his ancestry 
throup;h the Frankish and Flemish lines. 



Geoffrey, Earl of Anjou, died a.d. 1151, and was buried in 
the cathedral of Mans, where, Mr. Duncan says, his monument 
was preserved up to 1793, on which the following epitaph was 
engraved, 

Ense tuo, princeps, prsedonum turba fugatur ; 
Ecclesiisque quies, pace vigente, datur. 

38 One must regret that the reign of Stephen, so full of interest, 
was not taken up by one fully qualified to do it justice ; " In 
my happier days, while I had yet hope and onward-looking 
thoughts, I planned an historical drama of King Stephen, in the 
manner of Shakspeare." S. T. Coleridge's Remains, vol. ii. 
p. 160. 



68 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER V. 

" Turn then to Phararaond and Charlemagne, 
And the long heroes of the Gallic strain." prior. 

TJie Pedigree o/Henry II. from Pepin the Old 
to the Counts of Flanders. 



T 



HE monarchs of England, as well as those of 



Charlemagne. The earliest of them who is recog- 
nized by historians is Pepin the Old. Sir Robert 
Comyn says, " The first distinguished member of the 
family appears to have been Pepin, mayor of Austra- 
sia (under Dagobert I. King of the Franks), who 
died 639. He was lord of extensive lands between 
Hainault and the Meuse ; his son Grimbald succeeded 
him as Mayor. Doda daughter of this Pepin gave 
birth to another Pepin distinguished by the surname 
of Heristal." 1 Doda, or Bega, as she is called by 
some writers, married Anchises, son of St. Arnold, 
bishop of Metz, and Margrave on the Scheld, and 



1 History of the Western Empire, by Sir Robert Comyn, 
2 vols. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 69 

said to be descended from Pharamond, fifth Duke of 
Franconia, the supposed ancestor of the Guelphs. 2 
Anchises, who succeeded to the rank and influence of 
his wife's father as Major Domus, or Mayor of the 
Palace, was in 679 killed in hunting, leaving a son 
Pepin, who was created Duke of Austrasia, which 
province, disgusted by the cruelties of Ebroin, then 
mayor of the palace under Dagobert II. and Thierri 
III., revolted from the Franks, and chose Pepin for 
its duke, who, when Thierri attempted to reclaim the 
duchy, took that king prisoner, and governed France 
under the title of mayor during his reign, and that of 
his equally feeble successors Clovis II., Childebert III., 
and Dagobert II. 3 Pepin, who was surnamed the 
Fat, as well as d'Heristal, from the name of a palace 
which he had on the banks of the Maese, was a man 
of consummate address, and bore himself in his ex- 
alted situation with great moderation and justice, and 



2 Lavoisne, who quotes Father Anselm as his authority, states 
that St. Arnold was Maire du Palais to Theodebert II., King 
of Austrasia, and that he died a.d. 640. By the same autho- 
rities it is stated that Pepin d'Heristal's fourth son Childebrand 
was ancestor of Hugh Capet in seven desceuts. By some 
authorities, St. Arnold is said to be the son of another Arnold, 
son of Ansbert, (died 570) whose father Vaubert was son of 
Adalbert, second son of Clodio, son of Pharamond. 

3 " Pepin maitre de Paris, des finances, de la personne du 
roi, le fut de la monarchic entiere, sous le simple nom de maire 
du palais." Miixot. Hist de France. 



70 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

died respected and regretted after a rule of twenty- 
seven years, a. d. 714. 4 By Elpaide he was father of 
the famous Charles Martel, who succeeded as 
Mayor of the Palace to Thierri IV., during whose 
reign he employed the warlike spirit of the Franks in 
foreign wars. He defeated the Suevians by sea, and 
the Frisons by land ; he triumphed twice over the 
Germans, and five times over the Saxons ; but the 
celebrated victory which procured him the surname of 
Marteau, or the Hammer, occurred in 732, in a battle 
which took place between Tours and Poictiers, where 
he defeated Abdahrehman and the Saracens, of whom 
it is said three hundred thousand fell in the field. 
" It was a victory," says the historian Gibbon, " which 
by critically stopping the Saracenic progress, prevented 
consequences that might have curiously altered the fate 
even of Britain." 5 Charles Martel, whose wisdom 

4 During the time of Pepin d'Heristal, a party of twelve 
English missionaries headed hy Wilbrord, a priest of Ripon, 
appeared at his court, and were protected by him in their at- 
tempt to spread Christianity ; and Pepin himself was baptized 
by Wilbrord, who was afterwards created bishop of Utrecht, 
and enjoyed the protection of Charles Martel. See Mr. Tur- 
ner's History of the Anglo-Saxons. 

5 Of the lasting benefit derived from this important victory, 
a similar opinion is thus expressed by the laureate : 

" The second day was that when Martel broke 
The Musselmen, delivering France opprest, 

And in one mighty conflict, from the yoke 
Of misbelieving Mecca saved the West; 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 71 

and valour were of the highest order, governed with 
firmness and energy; and although he might have 
assumed the regal title, he was content to bear the 
simpler style of Duke of the Franks ; and dying at 
the age of fifty, in 741, left the whole of the govern- 
ment of France between his sons by Rotrude, Carlo- 
man and Pepin, the former having Austrasia, Swabia, 
and Thuringia; and the latter Neustria, Burgundy, 
and Provence : but Carloman soon after assuming 
the monastic vows, Pepin enjoyed the undivided au- 
thority, and in 751 assumed the name, as he had long 
enjoyed the power, of King of France, and, with the 
sanction of Pope Zachary, was crowned at Soissons. 6 
In 755, he marched into Italy to succour the pope, 
Stephen III., against the Lombards, whom he de- 
feated ; and he was victorious against the Saxons, 
Bavarians, and Saracens, and by the defeat of Waifar, 
Duke of Aquitaine, annexed that province to France. 
His combat with a lion, when no one of his courtiers 
was hardy enough to venture the encounter, is a 

Else had the Impostor's law destroyed the ties 
Of public weal and private charities." 

Southey. Pilgrimage to Waterloo, Part 1, st. 2. 
So also Millot : " Sans cette victoire, la France serait peut- 
etre devenue un pays mahometan." 

6 " Though Pepin, King of the Franks, the father of the great 
Charles, was the first of his race who enjoyed the royal title, the 
family had long been illustrious, and by degrees absorbed the 
whole of the sovereign authority." sir r. comyn. 



72 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

proof of his personal courage, 7 and though he was 
small of stature, which procured him the surname of 
Le JBref, his strength was extraordinary. Foreseeing 
the greatness of his son, he is said to have caused this 
simple inscription to be placed on his tomb, 

PEPIN PERE DE CHARLEMAGNE. 

Pepin the Short died in 768, and by Bertrade, 
daughter of Caribert, Count of Laon, he had three 
sons and three daughters. One of the latter, Bertha, 
married Milo, Count of Angers ; and their son was 
the famous Paladin Orlando, " the brave Roland" of 
song, the hero of many a romance, who was slain in 
778 at the battle of Roncesvalles. 8 

The first organ seen in France is said to have been 
sent to King Pepin in 757, as a present from the 
emperor Constantine IV., Copronymus, and by Pepin 
bestowed upon the church of St. Corneille at Com- 
piegne. 

7 See Millot. Hist de France. 

8 " Dodici paladini aveva in corte 

Carlo ; e'l piu savio a famoso era Orlando : 

Gan traditor lo condusse a la morte 

In Roncisvalle un trattato ordinando ; 

La dove il corno sono tanto forte 

Dopo la dolorosa rotta, quando 

Ne la sua commedia Dante qui dice, 

E mettelo con Carlo in ciel felice." 

Pulci. Canto 1, St. viii. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 73 

Pepin's eldest son Charles, whose victories and 
exalted reputation procured him the title of the Great, 9 
was born in the Castle of Ingelheim near Mentz, 
a. d. 742, or according to Millot 743. For a few 
months he reigned jointly with his brother Carloman, 
whose death left him sole King of France. He de- 
feated Desiderius, King of the Lombards, putting an 
end to their kingdom, and caused himself to be crowned 
with their celebrated iron crown at Milan, a. d. 774. 10 
He then turned his attention to the hardy and war- 
like Saxons, who, under their renowned chief the 
great Witikind (an ancestor of her present Majesty 
and of Prince Albert), defied the power of the Franks 
for thirty-three years ; but at length, in the year 800, 
submitted to Charles, when having subdued Italy, 
Saxony, Bavaria, Hungary, and in a word, the greatest 
part of Europe, he assumed the title of Emperor of 
the West. 11 He made his son Pepin King of Italy, 

9 "The appellation of great has been often bestowed, and 
sometimes deserved ; but Charlemagne is tbe only prince in 
whose favour the title has been indissolubly blended with the 
name." gibbon. 

10 After the lapse of more than a thousand years, the Iron 
Crown of Lombardy (so called because it contained an iron 
band, said to be made out of one of the nails which fastened our 
Saviour to the cross,) again encircled the brows of an imperial 
ruler of France, even of one mightier than Charlemagne, of him 
whose dynasty began and ended in himself, Napoleon Buona- 
parte. 

J1 He possessed France, Spain from the Pyrennees to the Ebro, 



74 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

to his son Louis he gave the kingdom of Acquitaine, 
and created his fifth son Charles, Duke of Maine. In 
813, he associated Louis with himself in the empire, 
and died in the following year. 

This great monarch, the ablest and most generous 
prince that had appeared in Europe during several 
ages, was a munificent patron of learning and learned 
men. To the celebrated Alcuin, whom he invited 
from England to be tutor to his children, he granted 
three rich abbeys, computed to have twenty thousand 
vassals ; whilst his fame reached into the remotest 
countries, and the caliph Haroun-Al-Reschid sent 
him rich and curious presents. 12 

Charlemagne had several wives, by whom he had a 
numerous progeny. By his first, Desiderade, daugh- 
ter of the deposed King of Lombardy, he was father 
of Pepin I., King of Italy, from whom descended 
Alice of Vermandois, wife of Arnold I., Count of 
Flanders. 13 By his second queen, Hildegarde of Sua- 



Italy from the Alps to the borders of Calabria, and Germany, 
including tbe Low Countries." lavoisne. 

12 In proof of Charles's vigorous and determined character, 
the French historians quote one of his sayings: " II avait tou- 
jours l'epee au cote, et c'est avec le pommeau qu'il scellait quel- 
quefois les traites, ' Je 1'ai scelle,' disait-il, ' du pommeau de 
mon epee, et je le soutiendrai avec la pointe.' " mii.lot. 

13 Alice was daughter of Herbert, or Haribert II., Count of 
Vermandois (who kept Charles the Simple for two years a pri- 
soner in his Castle of Peronne), his father was Herbert, the 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 75 

bia, Charlemagne had his successor in the empire, 
Louis, called le Debonair. 

The new emperor had given proofs of valour and 
conduct during his great father's life-time, but after 
he came to the throne his good qualities appear to 
have forsaken him. By a first wife, Hermengarde of 
Acquitaine, he had three sons, Lothaire, Pepin, and 
Louis, between whom he shared the kingdom, giving 
Acquitaine to Pepin, to Louis Bavaria, and associating 
Lothaire with himself in the empire. 14 By his second 
wife, Judith, daughter of Guelph, Duke of Bavaria, 
the first well-recognized ancestor of the House of 
Brunswick, he had a son Charles, who was, by the 
intrigues of his ambitious mother, declared to be king 
to the prejudice of the sons of the first marriage, who, 
incensed at the proceeding, revolted against their 
father, whom they compelled to retire into the monas- 
tery of St. Medard, at Soissons, but who, upon the 



first Count of Vermandois, son of Pepin II., Sir, or Seigneur of 
Peronne and St. Quentin, whose father Bernard, King of Italy, 
was son and successor of Pepin I. in that kingdom. 

14 One of the daughters of this first marriage was Giselle, 
who married Everard, Duke of Friuli ; and their great grand- 
son was Henry the Fowler, ancestor of Her Majesty and of 
Prince Albert, who are also descended from Charlemagne, 
through his grandson Louis the Germanic (third son of Louis le 
Debonair), whose grandson the German Emperor Arnolf, was 
father of Hedwige, who married Otho, Duke of Saxony, and by 
him was mother of Henry the Fowler. See Table XXI. 



76 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

brothers falling out about the government, was re- 
placed upon the throne. In a new partition of the 
empire, Louis bestowed Italy upon Lothaire, Germany 
and Saxony upon Louis, Acquitaine upon Pepin, 
whilst Charles had France and Burgundy. Louis le 
Debonair died in 840 of fatigue in an expedition 
against his son Louis the Bavarian. 15 

Charles, surnamed the Bald, le Chauve, on his 
father's death, held undivided sway in France ; and in 
the year 877, received the imperial crown from Pope 
John VIII. In his reign the Normans made their 
incursions, and in 845, they advanced as far as Paris, 
which they burnt, and Charles had to purchase their 
departure. He married Hermentrude daughter of 
Vodon, Earl of Orleans (Speed), and among other 
children, had a daughter Judith, who was first 
married to Ethelwolf King of England, as his second 
queen, she became afterwards the wife of Baldwin, 
the first Count or Earl of Flanders, by whom she 
was ancestress, through the succeeding princes of 
that province, of the Conqueror's queen Matilda. 

As our object is to trace a descent from Charle- 
magne, chiefly as it relates to the royal house of 

is « Avec une valeur eprouvee, un naturel bienfaisant, une 
douceur extreme, qui ne se dementit qu' une seule fois, une 
capacite meme peu commune alors, car il entendait le grec et 
parlait latin, Louis-le-Debonnair fut le jouet de tout le monde." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT, 77 

England, it will only be necessary to state briefly the 
fate of his male descendants. 

The partition of the empire was the cause of its 
downfall. " So long as Charlemagne breathed, the 
nations of Western Europe remained consolidated 
under his wide-extended rule, a domination foreign to 
them all, the Frank nation only excepted ; but they 
began to break the bond of this factitious union from 
the instant when the Frank Caesar descended in his 
imperial robes into the sepulchral vault of Aix-la- 
Chapelle." 16 

Lewis II., called the Stammerer, succeeded his 
father Charles the Bald, on the throne of France, 
and after an uninteresting reign of two years was 
followed by his sons Lewis III., and Carloman ; the 
former died in 882, and the latter in 884, when 
Charles the Fat, a grandson of Louis the Debonair, 
obtained the crown ; he was deposed in 888, to make 
way for Eudes, Count of Paris, who distinguished 
himself greatly against the Normans ; he was obliged 
to admit, to share in the kingdom, Charles the Simple, 
youngest son of Lewis the Stammerer, who, on the 
death of Eudes in 898, reigned alone. A rival was 
set up against him in the person of Robert I., brother 
of the late King Eudes ; but Charles the Simple slew 
him with his own hand in battle. Charles died in 

16 Thierry, Hist. Norman Conquest. 



78 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

prison in 929, leaving a son, Lewis IV., called Outre- 
Mer, or the Transmarine ; he died in 954, and was 
succeeded by his son Lothaire, whose son Lewis V. 
was the last king of the Carlovingian line, which made 
way for the family of Capet, whose descendants have 
ever since sat upon the throne of France. Hugh Capet 
was son of Hugh the Great, Count of Paris, the son 
of Robert, King of France, slain by Charles the Sim- 
ple. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 79 



CHAPTER VI. 

" Say from what sceptered royalty ye claim, 
Recorded eminent in deathless fame ?" pope. 

From the Counts of Flanders to Matilda, Wife 
of William the Conqueror. 

BALDWIN, the first Count of Flanders, by his 
union in 862, with Judith, daughter of the 
grandson of Charlemagne, named after her grand- 
mother, the daughter of Guelph I., became the 
progenitor of a line of princes from whose descendant 
Matilda spring the royal houses of England. 

Mr. S. Turner states that the great grandfather of 
Baldwin was the Count Lidricus, who first cultivated 
Flanders ; his grandson Andacer, father of Baldwin, 
held the title of Great Forester of Flanders, and died 
a. d. 837. 

Baldwin, who was engaged at the battle of Fontenoi, 
a. d. 841, was surnamed " Bras-de-Fer" for his great 
courage, and was already a powerful chieftain when 
Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, and widow of 
Ethelwolf of England, on her return to her father's 



80 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

court, became attached to him. " It is not quite cer- 
tain," says Mr. Grattan, "whether he was count, 
forester, marquis, or protector of the frontier; but he 
certainly enjoyed, no matter under what title, consi- 
derable authority in the country, since the pope on 
one occasion wrote to Charles the Bald, to beware of 
offending him, lest he should join the Normans, and 
open to them an entrance into France. He carried 
off Judith to his possessions. The king- her father, 
after many ineffectual threats, was forced to agree to 
consent to their union, 1 and confirmed to Baldwin with 
the title of Count, the hereditary government of all 
the country between the Scheld and the Somme." 2 

Baldwin built castles at Ghent and Bruges, in 865, 
to protect the country against the Normans, whose 

1 It appears from Moreri that the pope undertook the recon- 
ciliation of Baldwin to his superior lord : " Baudouin, premier 
de ce nom, surnomme Bras-de-fer, Comte de Flandres, enleva 
en 862, Judith, fille de Charles le Chauve, son Roi, et jeune 
veuve d'Ethelwolf, Roi d'Angleterre. Ce fut du consentement 
de cette princesse. Le Pape Nicholas I. l'ayant excommunie 
a la poursuite du Roi, Baudouin alia l'annee d'apres, 863, a 
Rome avec Judith ; et le saint Pere, touche de sa soumission, 
et des larmes de la princesse, interposa ses prieres aupres de 
Charles. Ce prince lui pardonna, consentit au marriage qui se 
fit a Auxerre en 863, et donna la Flandres a Baudouin, en titre 
de Comte, sous l'hommage de la couronne." Dictionnaire Hist. 
Art. Baudouin. 

2 History of the Netherlands, by T. Colley Grattan, Esq. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 81 

encroachments were successfully resisted during the 
lifetime of this brave chieftain. 3 

Baldwin I. died in 878, or in 880 according to 
Mr. Turner ; his wife Judith survived him ; and their 
son succeeded as Count of Flanders, by the name of 
Baldwin II., surnamed the Bald. He added greatly 
to the dignity of his family by his marriage with a 
daughter of the illustrious Alfred the Great, called 
by the English historians Alfritha, and Ettrude by 
the French, from which alliance were born two sons, 
Arnolf, and Adulf, and two daughters, Ealswitha, and 
Ermentrude, as Mr. Turner quotes from Ethelwerd. 
Alfritha had been educated with the greatest care in 
the court of her father, and Asser bore honourable 
testimony to her estimable qualities. Alfred be- 
queathed to her a hundred pounds and three manors. 
Baldwin II. made war against Eudes, Count of France, 
and defeated him; but his own province was much 
infested by the Normans. He died in 918, and was 
succeeded by his son Arnolf. 

Arnolf I., Arnoul, or Arnold, called the Great 
by Edmondson and others, married Alice or Aloisa 
of Vermandois, whose descent from Charlemagne is 



3 An ancient writer in the eleventh century states that Flan- 
ders never had a prince superior to Baldwin I. in talent and 
Avarlike ability. 



82 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

given in the preceding chapter. Arnolf was of an 
ambitious and intriguing character. He warred against 
Herloin II., Earl of Ponthieu, and in revenge for the 
assistance afforded to that nobleman by William Long- 
sword, Duke of Normandy, Arnolf caused the assassi- 
nation of that prince, and after his death, waged war 
upon his youthful son Richard. 

According to Dr. Lingard, Arnolfs brother Adulf 
went as ambassador from Hugh the Great to the 
court of Athelstan, King of England, to ask the hand 
of his sister Ethilda. On the death of Arnolf I. in 
946, he was succeeded by his son Baldwin III., 
surnamed " of the Comely Beard," who married Ma- 
chial, or Matilda, daughter of Herman Billing, Duke 
of Saxony, a maternal ancestor of Henry the Lion of 
Saxony. See Table XXIV. 

Baldwin III. died in 962, and was succeeded by his 
son Arnolf, second of that name, whose wife was 
the daughter of Berenger II., King of Italy; 4 her 
name according to some writers is Rosa, but by Sir 
Jlobert Comyn and Lavoisne she is called Susanna. 

Baldwin IV. succeeded in 988 upon the death of 
his father Arnolf II. He was surnamed " The Gentle," 



4 Berenger II., King of Italy, was son of Albert, Marquis of 
Ivrea, by Gilette daughter of Berenger I., King of Italy, whose 
father was Everard, Duke or Count of Friuli, who married 
Gisla, daughter of Louis le Debonair. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 83 

and was called likewise Baldwin of Lille. He married 
Eleanor, second daughter of Richard II., Duke of 
Normandy, and by her was father of Baldwin V., 
surnamed " The Pious." 

Baldwin V. became Count of Flanders at the 
death of his father in 1034. He was a prince res- 
pected for his great talents and address, by which 
he greatly increased his patrimonial territories. He 
joined the league of Lambert II., Count of Mons- 
Louvain, and Robert, Count of Namur, against the 
Emperor Otho II., who ceded to Baldwin Valenciennes 
and the islands of Zealand. Upon another occasion, 
having espoused the cause of Godfrey, who claimed 
the inheritance of the dukedom of Lower Lorraine, 
the emperor was obliged to yield to the demand, and 
Baldwin gained another rich accession of territory, in 
the county of Alost, with Waas, and the citadel of 
Ghent, and increased the importance of his family by 
obtaining in marriage for his son Baldwin " of the 
Axe," 5 the Countess Richilda, heiress of Hainault and 
Namur. But the most important alliance of the 
family was with William, Duke of Normandy, who 
married in 1053 Baldwin's daughter Matilda, who 

5 A descendant of Baldwin V. became Emperor of Constanti- 
nople, as Baldwin I., at whose death in 1206, the imperial dig 
nity was conferred on his brother Henry, and their sister Yolande 
carried the crown into the family of Capet, by her marriage with 
Peter of Courtenay, grandson of Lewis \ I. 



84 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

in the year 1068, two years after her husband's im- 
portant conquest, had the crown of England placed 
upon her brows. The mother of Matilda was Adela, 
daughter of King Robert of France, son of Hugh 
Capet. At the death of Henry I., King of France, 
the brother of his countess, Baldwin V. assumed the 
office of regent to his young nephew, Philip I., to 
which he had been named in Henry's will. The high 
position of Baldwin was very favourable for the suc- 
cess of his son-in-law's design upon the English 
crown, for he, as regent, promised that France should 
not levy war upon Normand}^ and as count, secretly 
encouraged the ardent young nobility of his province 
to enlist under William's standard, his grandson Gil- 
bert de Gant forming one of the expedition, who for 
his services at Hastings obtained several lordships 
from the Conqueror. 

Baldwin V. had likewise a daughter Judith, who 
after the death of her first husband Tostig, brother 
of Harold, espoused Guelph IV., first duke of that 
name, of Upper and Lower Bavaria, in whose person 
were united the illustrious Houses of Guelph and 
Este, and from which union lineally descended Er- 
nest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, who in marry- 
ing Sophia, granddaughter of James I. of England, 
gave to his son George I. a pedigree from the Counts 
of Flanders, by a doable descent from Baldwin V.; 
and it is interesting to observe that an alliance had 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 85 

previously taken place between the descendants of the 
two sisters, when the great grandson of Judith, 
Henry the Lion, married Maud Plantagenet 
derived in the fourth descent from Matilda of 
Flanders. 

For the indirect assistance afforded by Baldwin to 
his son-in-law, the Conqueror recompensed him by an 
annual payment of three hundred silver marks ; whilst 
M. Thierry quotes from Domesday Book that Matilda 
obtained as her share in the conquest, all the lands 
belonging to a rich Saxon named Brihtrik, 6 who had 
been ambassador from the Court of England to that 
of Normandy, and who it appears had incurred her 
implacable resentment by refusing to marry her be- 
fore she became the Conqueror's wife. 7 Matilda was 
crowned in England, a. d. 1068, and died in Nor- 
mandy, in 1083. She is supposed to have worked 
the famous Bayeux Tapestry. 



6 Brihtric was Lord of Gloucester, and after his disgrace this 
dignity was conferred upon Robert Fitz-Hamon. 

7 Hist, of the Norman Conquest, Book IV. 



86 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER VII. 

" Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart, 

And fought the holy wars in Palestine." k. john. 

" That John may stand, then Arthur needs must fall." 

IBID. 

The House o/'PLANTAGENET/rom the Accession of 
Henry II., to the Death of Henry III. 

IN trie preceding chapters the pedigree of the kings 
of England has been deduced through the Anglo- 
Saxon kings, the dukes of Normandy, the Carlovingian 
race, and the counts of Flanders to Henry II., fifth 
King of England from the Conquest, and tenth Duke 
of Normandy. His mother, the Empress Maud, who 
still survived, had resigned all her rights in favour of 
her son, to whom also his father Geoffrey, Count of 
Anjou, had ceded the duchy of Normandy in 1148, 
and on his death in 1151, Henry was put in possession 
of the patrimonial provinces of Anjou and Maine; 
whilst a year afterwards, a. d. 1152, Henry acquired 
still greater power and consequence by his marriage 
with the divorced queen of Louis VII. of France, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 87 

Eleanor, or Alianor, daughter and heiress of Wil- 
liam V., Duke of Acquitaine or Guienne, and Count 
of Poictou. 1 

Henry II. possessed a greater extent of territory 
and authority than had been enjoyed by preceding 
kings of England, having this country from his grand- 
father, Normandy by his mother, Maine, 2 Anjou, and 
Touraine by his father, Guienne, Poictou, Xaintonge, 
Auvergne, Perigord, Angoumois, and the Limosin by 
his wife; to all this he shortly afterwards added 
Britany 3 and Ireland 4 by conquest. 

Normandy and Guienne were two of the six lay 
peerages of France, the possession therefore of these 
" her almost kingly dukedoms," 



1 William V., Duke of Guienne, whose wife was Eleanor of 
Chatelherault (Nisbet) was ninth in descent from Arnulph of the 
house of Burgundy. (Playfair). 

2 Fulk V., Count of Anjou, Henry's paternal grandfather, 
acquired Maine at the death of his wife's father, Helier, Count 
of Maine. 

3 Henry II. obtained Britany in the following manner : when 
Hoel, Count of Britany, was expelled from Nantes, the province 
was offered to Geoffrey, brother of Henry, at whose death, in 
1158, it was seized by the king under pretence of being his 
brother's heir. 

4 Under the sanction of the Englishman (Nicholas Break- 
spear) who sat in St. Peter's chair, as Pope Adrian IV., and 
through the soldiership of Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pem- 
broke, of the Great House of Clare, Ireland in 1171-2 was added 
to the crown of England. 



"^ 



88 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

with his other foreign acquisitions, rendered Henry a 
formidable vassal to his superior lord. 

By his marriage with Eleanor of Guienne, Henry 
had five sons and three daughters. 1. William, who 
died young, 1156; 2. Henry, surnamed Shortmantle, 
born 1 156, who married Margaret, daughter of Louis 
VII., King of France ; 3. Richard, Count of Poictiers, 
born 1157, afterwards King of England ; 4. Geoffrey, 
Count of Britany, born 1158; 5. and John, called 
Lackland, born 1166, who, on account of his youth, 
had no territory assigned to him : the daughters were 

1. Matilda, born in 1156, married to Henry the 
Lion of Saxony, ancestor of the House of Brunswick ; 

2. Eleanor, married to Alphonso IX., King of Castile, 
their daughter Blanche married Louis VIII., and from 
them are descended the succeeding kings of France ; 

3. Eleanor, who espoused William, King of Sicily. 5 



5 From the union of Henry II. with Eleanor of Acquitaine is 
derived the third lion (lioncel would be the more accurate de- 
scription) in the shield of England. The compiler has never 
met but in one work the reason of its introduction well detailed. 
In an old volume in the library of Sir. T. G. Cullum, baronet, 
without a title page, but which is stated in MS. to have been 
printed in London 1611, by William Hall, for Raphe Mab, and 
called " a Display of Heraldrie," after describing the arms of 
Acquitaine, " the field is Mars, a lion passant gardant Sol ;" the 
author continues, " This was the coat armour of William, Duke 
of Acquitaine or of Guyan, one of the peers of France, whose 
daughter and heire named Elinor was married to Henry II., 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 89 

Henry experienced deep mortification from his own 
family. He had caused his son of the same name to 
be associated with himself in the royalty, and upon 
the occasion of the coronation a. d. 1170 the young 
prince, or rather king, betrayed the violence of his 
temper ; to give the more grace to the solemnity, the 
king waited upon his son at table as a server, " bring- 
ing up the bore's head with trumpets before it," says 
Holinshed, and when it was remarked how honoured 
he must feel to be attended by so great a monarch, 
" What is there so wonderful," said the haughty young 
prince, " that the son of a count should serve the son 
of a king ?" 6 A few years after this scene, Henry the 



King of England; by reason of which match the field and charge 
being of the same colour and metall that the then royall ensignes 
of this land were, and this lion of the like action that those were 
of, this lion was united with those two lions in one shield; 
sithence which time the kings of England have borne three 
lioncels passant gardant." Sir John Feme, herald in the time 
of Queen Elizabeth, states that the animals borne by William 
the Conqueror, and by the father of Queen Eleanor, were 
leopards. 

6 Upon a remonstrance from the King of France against the 
omission of his daughter Margaret at this coronation, that prin- 
cess was solemnly crowned with young Henry in 1173, who 
thus a second time enjoyed the shadow of royalty, the substance 
of which he never lived to realize. Henry the younger (Rex 
Junior) carried his presumption so far as to use a regal seal of 
his own, and even to call himself Henry 111., as if his father 
were dead. 



90 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

younger broke out in open revolt against his father, 
demanding the investiture either of England, Nor- 
mandy, or Maine, and his brothers Richard and 
Geoffrey followed his example, and required to be put 
in actual possession of the territories assigned to them ; 
they were excited to this undutiful course by the jea- 
lousy of Queen Eleanor, and supported by the rivalry 
of the French king. " And thus," says Hume, 
" Europe saw with astonishment, the best and most 
indulgent of parents at war with his whole family ; 
three boys, scarcely arrived at the age of puberty, 
required a great monarch in the full vigour of his age 
and height of his reputation, to dethrone himself in 
their favour ; and several princes not ashamed to sup- 
port them in these unnatural and absurd pretensions." 
This unhappy family quarrel continued to rage 
more or less fiercely during the father's life time, as 
the sons themselves lived to insist upon their claims. 
In 1183 Henry Junior died without issue, 7 and in 
1 185 his brother Geoffrey was killed at a tournament, 
leaving a widow, Constance, who gave birth to' a 
posthumous son, the unfortunate Arthur, who suc- 
ceeded to the inheritance of Britany under the guar- 
dianship of his grandfather Henry II. Yet was the 
now infirm monarch still to be disquieted by the 

7 Prince Henry's widow, Margaret of France, was afterwards 
married to Be!a III., King of Hungary. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 91 

behaviour of his children. Richard entered into a 
confederacy against him with Philip II. of France, 
and when Henry, compelled by circumstances, agreed 
to the terms dictated to him, and required to see the 
list of those partizans of Richard to whom he con- 
sented to grant an indemnity, the first name he 
encountered was that of his youngest and favourite 
child John; this last blow was too much for the 
unhappy father, who, cursing the day wherein he was 
born, bestowed a malediction upon his ungrateful sons, 
which he would not recal, and died broken-hearted 
on the 6th July, 1189, in the fifty-eighth year of his 
age, and thirty-fifth of his reign. 

The early part of Henry's reign is rendered famous 
from his quarrel with Thomas a Becket, which lasted 
from 1162 to 1171. Of all the celebrated churchmen 
who, from the time of Dunstan in the tenth century, 
to Cardinal Wolsey in the sixteenth, have borne so 
large a share in controlling the destinies of England, 
no one was more remarkable than Becket. Dunstan 
had, with the exception of Edgar, who gave way to 
him from policy, only feeble boys to rule, but Becket 
set himself in opposition against the vigorous under- 
standing and matured intellect of the wisest and most 
powerful prince in Christendom; and probably some 
thought of his own Anglo-Saxon descent entered 
strongly among other motives in his long and singular 
contest with the great grandson of the Norman In- 



92 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

vader. 8 Becket's pomp and luxury, before he became 
archbishop, in his retinue and table, exceeded all that 
had ever been seen in England in a subject, and when 
he attended the king in Normandy, he carried with 
him a train of twelve hundred knights and four thou- 
sand men. Whatever were the faults of Becket, it 
appears certain that he was sincere in his views, and 
second only to the king in station, he was his equal 
in independence of spirit, and his superior in single- 
ness of purpose, and although his life fell a sacrifice 
to his perseverance, yet was his posthumous triumph 
over the king complete, when the latter, after a dis- 
course from Gilbert Foliot, 9 the martyr's once bitterest 
enemy, exposed his bare back in humble posture 
before the canonized Becket's tomb, and received the 
stripes from the monks of English birth, who neglected 
not this opportunity, according to the old chroniclers, 
of debasing with secret joy the great grandson of the 
conqueror of their race. 

8 M. Thierry states that by a strange chance, Becket at the 
same time held three places mournfully memorable to an English- 
man, namely, the prebend of Hastings, the keeping of the castle 
of Berkhampstead (where William entrenched himself after the 
battle of Hastings) and the government of the Tower of London. 
Book IX. Hist, of Norman Conquest. 

9 Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London, who was foremost of 
Becket's accusers and opponents, is celebrated by Mathew 
Paris for a rhyming contest with the devil. One night whilst 
bishop Foliot was considering in his mind matters political 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 93 

a. d. 1189. Henry II. was succeeded by his eldest 
surviving son, Richard, whose passion for military 
glory soon caused him to leave his kingdom to engage 
in the crusades, where his heroic deeds and unrivalled 
valour procured for him his name of Cceur-de-Lion. 
But his absence in the Holy Land and subsequent 
imprisonment in Germany were taken advantage of 
by the intriguing spirit of his brother John, who yet 
found in Richard on his return a generosity greater 
than his own baseness. " I forgive him, and hope I 
shall as easily forget his injuries as he will my pardon," 
was Richard's remark, when Queen Eleanor implored 
forgiveness for John. 

King Richard married Berengaria, daughter of 
Sanchez, King of Navarre, but had no children by 
her ; and the death of the lion-hearted king by the 
arrow of Bertrand de Gourdon 10 in 1199, opened the 
prospect of a throne to the ambitious view of his 
brother John Lackland. 



rather than ecclesiastical, Satan roared in his ears the following 
verses : — 

" O Gilberte Foliot ! 
Dum revolvis tot et tot, 
Deus tuus est Astarot." 
To which unceremonious address the intrepid prelate replied, 
" Mentiris, daemon ! Qui est Deus, 
Sabbaoth, est ille meus." 
10 According to a tradition in the family, the present George 
Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen, is descended from this Bertrand. 



94 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

According to the right of primogeniture, the true 
heir to the throne of England, after Richard's death, 
was the young Prince Arthur, Duke of Britany, then 
twelve years old, son of Geoffrey, an elder brother of 
John, by Constance, daughter of Conan le Petit, 
whose wife was Margaret, daughter of Henry, son of 
David I., King of Scots. But owing to the interest 
which he had taken care to secure among the most 
powerful barons, John was recognized as sovereign of 
England, Normandy, and Acquitaine, whilst Maine, 
Anjou, and Touraine, declared for Arthur, who was 
taken under the protection of King Philip, to whose 
daughter Mary he was affianced. Whilst Arthur and 
his royal friend were besieging Queen Eleanor in the 
castle of Mirabeau, John, advancing to his mother's 
rescue, fell upon Arthur unawares and captured him. 
The subsequent fate of the young prince is well 
known, and although the exact manner of his death 
is not precisely ascertained, it is generally believed 
that he perished by the hands of his unnatural uncle, 
April 3rd, 1203. Shakspeare in the play of King 
John makes Arthur meet his death in an attempt to 
leap from the walls of his prison, which was at Rouen, 
not at Northampton as in the play ; his authority for 
this catastrophe is D'Argenson, who states that the 
prince leaped from the wall into the river (the Seine), 
and, being unable to swim to the bank, was drowned. 






AND PRINCE ALBERT. 95 

In placing the Earl of Pembroke" among the barons 
who went over to the French interest, the immortal 
bard has departed from historical truth, for that noble- 
man and Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, alone pre- 
served their loyalty : 

" Among the faithless, faithful only they." 

Pembroke's son, William Mareschal the Younger, one 
of the twenty-five celebrated barons of Magna Charta, 
was among the revolted nobles, and as he was, after 
his father's death, Earl of Pembroke, probably he was 
mistaken by Shakspeare for the father. The great 
poet has, by his portrait of Hubert de Burgh, hardly 
done justice to the character of that truly able and 
excellent noble ; for those persons who derive their 
knowledge of English history chiefly from Shak- 
speare's plays, and it is believed that the number is 
not small, 12 would conclude that Hubert was of mean 

11 This excellent noble is an ancestor of Her Majesty, by the 
marriage of his third daughter Isabel, with Gilbert de Clare, 
Earl of Gloucester. Leland calls William Marshall the Earl of 
Pembroke, " miles strenuissimus ac per totam orbem nomina- 
tissimus." He died in 1219, and was buried in the Temple 
Church, London. 

12 Even the great Earl of Chatham admitted that he had 
derived much of his knowledge of English history from the 
immortal dramas of the poet ; and Mr. S. T. Coleridge observes 
that Marlborough confessed that his principal acquaintance with 
English history was derived from them. 

H 



96 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

parentage and obscure fortunes, and one likely to be 
tempted 

" to be the butcher of an innocent child ;" 

on one occasion, Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, is made to 
taunt him with 

" Out, dunghill ! dar'st thou brave a nobleman V 

and Faulconbridge addresses him as if inferior to him- 
self (who was a base born), whereas, instead of being 

" A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd, 
Quoted, and sign'd to do a deed of shame," 

Hubert de Burgh was lawfully descended from the 
Emperor Charlemagne, and was grandson of William 
de Moreton, one of her present Majesty's ancestors ; 
nay, even Hubert himself may be reckoned among 
them, since Richard de Burgh, second Earl of Ulster, 
married Margaret, granddaughter of Hubert's grand- 
son, and the grandchild of Richard and Margaret was 
Elizabeth de Burgh, who conveyed the title and rich 
inheritance of Ulster to the royal house of England, 
by her marriage with Lionel of Clarence. As consta- 
ble of Dover, Hubert displayed great valour, and with- 
stood all the attempts of the Dauphin to take that 
important fortress. 

" All Kent hath yielded ; nothing there holds out, 
But Dover Castle." 

In the mother of the unfortunate Arthur, the poet has 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 97 

drawn one of his most admired female portraits. The 
Lady Blanch of the play was, as the poet states, " near 
to England," being daughter of John's sister Eleanor, 
and, as before stated, by Louis VIII., " the Dauphin," 
she became ancestress of many kings of France. 

The inhuman murder of Prince Arthur, added to 
the previous dislike felt against John, roused the 
foreign princes to shake off the English yoke, 13 and 
although Roger de Lacy and other brave barons ably 
defended their trust, yet being but feebly succoured 
by the slothful John, town after town, and province 
after province, fell before the victorious arms of the 
active and sagacious Philip, and thus in a few months, 
the splendid inheritance bequeathed by Rollo, enriched 
and augmented by alliances and conquest, and which 
had been held for three centuries in the vigorous grasp 
of that chieftain's descendants, passed away for ever 
from England, yielded up almost without a struggle 
by the unworthy and dastard hand of John, the 
twelfth and last Duke of Normandy. By some extra- 
ordinary oversight, the Channel Islands were omitted 
to be mentioned in the cession made by John, of his 
rights in Normandy ; and they have consequently 
remained a part of the possessions of the English 



13 << Yor the deth of Arthure and of his suster soo, 
Many astates were to Kynge John a foo." 

HARDY&G, p. 270. 



98 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

crown, faithful to their allegiance in times of danger 
and temptation. 

We have seen John an undutiful son, an ungrateful 
brother, and an unnatural uncle, and unable to defend 
his patrimonial inheritance ; we have now to contem- 
plate him acting the part of a domestic tyrant, and in 
open war with his own subjects. It would seem as if 
the curse of his dying parent had clung to him through 
life, and turned every thought and action into a poi- 
soned channel. Yet notwithstanding the dark charac- 
ter of the man and monarch, his reign was productive 
of great and enduring benefit to the kingdom, and the 
Great Charter, wrung from his reluctant hands 
by his bold barons, stands out in high relief from 
amid the gloomy picture of the period. Of this docu- 
ment, which led to such important results, the Rev. 
G. R. Gleig observes, " In a word, the foundation was 
laid of that system of free government which became, 
as its brightest energies were developed, the realiza- 
tion of the brightest dreams which the ancient sages 
ever ventured to cherish, but of the possibility of 
realizing which none among them presumed to encou- 
rage a hope." 

Magna Charta was obtained in 1215, 14 and in the 
following year, Louis the Dauphin, tempted by the 

14 In the Appendix (C) will be found a list of the twenty- 
fire barons who were appointed to enforce the observance of the 
Great Charter ; among them are some of Her Majesty's ances- 
tors. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 99 

offer of the crown, landed in Kent, supported unhappily 
by many English barons, and whilst England was thus 
partly in possession of a foreign foe, John died, Oct. 
19th, 1216, in the forty-ninth year of his age and the 
eighteenth of his reign, not without the suspicion of 
having been poisoned. 

John's first wife was Avisa, the rich heiress of 
William Earl of Gloucester, 15 whom he divorced in 
order to marry Isabella, daughter of Aymer Taille- 
Fer, Count of Angouleme, by Alice daughter of Peter 
Lord of Courtenay, fifth son of Louis le Gros, King 
of France; 16 by her John left two sons, Henry his 
successor, nine years old, and Richard, afterwards king 
of the Romans, seven years old, and three daughters, 
1. Jane or Joan, who espoused in 1221 Alexander II., 



15 William Earl of Gloucester was son of Robert de Mellent 
base son of King Henry I., called also Robert the Consul, who 
was the great general of his sister the Empress Maud ; his wife 
was Mabel, daughter and heiress of Robert Fitz-Hamon, Lord 
of Corboil in Normandy, and of Cardiff and Tewkesbury. 
(Heylin.) After her divorce, Avisa, who is also called Isabel, 
married Geoffrey de Mandevill, Earl of Essex, and it appears 
from Heylin that Isabel became the second wife of Hubert de 
Burgh. 

16 After the death of King John, his widow Isabella espoused 
Hugh le Brun, Earl of Marche, to whom she was affianced pre- 
vious to her marriage with John. By this second alliance she 
was mother, inter alios, of William de Valence, Earl of Pem- 
broke. 



100 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

King of Scots ; 2. Eleanor, married first to William 
Mareschal the younger, and secondly to Simon Mont- 
fort, Earl of Leicester ; and 3. Isabella, born 1214, 
married in 1235 to the Emperor Frederic II., and 
the historian Speed, who is generally very correct in 
his statements, affirms that it was a daughter of this 
marriage (and the emperor had been frequently married 
before), named Margaret, who became the wife of 
Albert Margrave of Thuringia, 17 the lineal ancestor of 
Ernest the Pious, from whom Her Majesty and Prince 
Albert are equally derived in the sixth descent. His 
Royal Highness, therefore, if Speed's respectable au- 
thority be followed, may lay claim to insert among his 
ancestry, the royal house of the Saxon Cerdic, including 
the great names of Egbert and Alfred. 18 

a. d. 1216. Prince Henry, the eldest son of King 
John, was by the care of the loyal Earl of Pembroke 
immediately proclaimed and crowned as third king of 
his name. By the judicious conduct of the earl, who 
was chosen protector during Henry's minority, the 



17 Speed's words are, " Isabel their yongest daughter was 
born An. 1214; when she was twenty-one yeares of age, she was 
married (being the sixt and last wife) to the Emperour Frede- 
ricke II., at the city of Wormes in Germany, 20 of July 1235. 
She had issue by him, Henry appointed to be King of Sicily, 
and Margaret wife of Albert, Landgrave Thurin." Booke 9, 
Chap. viii. 

18 The Compiler does not rely upon this instance alone in his 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 101 

barons were induced to return to their allegiance, and 
the array of Louis of France, being completely routed 
at Lincoln by the Protector, the Dauphin was glad to 
conclude a peace, and thus was England free once 
more from domestic and foreign enemies. 

The excellent Earl of Pembroke died soon after 
this happy result, and the government was conducted 
by Peter des Roches, or de Rupibus, bishop of Win- 
chester, and Hubert de Burgh, Great Justiciary ; the 
latter was obliged to retire from office, after having 
from 1221 to 1231 faithfully served his king, a victim 
to the hatred of the barons, who brooked not his zeal 
in resuming the rights of the crown so opposed to their 
own views of personal aggrandizement. 

In 1236, Henry III. married Eleanor, second 
daughter of Raymond Berenger, Count of Pro- 
vence, 19 whose father was the Count Alphonso, 
younger son of Alphonso I., King of Arragon, 
Castile, and Leon ; Eleanor's mother was Beatrice, 
daughter of Thomas, Count of Savoy. 20 The nation 



hope to prove Prince Albert's derivation from the Anglo-Saxon 
ancestors of Her Majesty ; in the account of Henry the Fowler's 
descendants another proof will be advanced. See also in Chap- 
ter II. the account of the children of Edward the Elder. See 
Tables 28, 29, and 30. 

19 Raymond, Count of Provence, bore for arms, " Paly of six, 
or and gules." Glover. 

20 Thomas, Sovereign Count of Savoy, who died in 1233, was 



102 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

was soon disgusted by the partiality shown by the king 
to his wife's relations and countrymen, who were put 
in possession of honours and dignities to the exclusion 
of the English, whose discontent was increased by the 
insolence of the foreign favourites. 21 The revolt which 
broke out among the barons brought upon the scene 
the celebrated Simon Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who 
had married (1238) the king's sister Eleanor, widow 
of the Earl of Pembroke, and for more than eight 
years this turbulent noble kept the kingdom in a state 
of civil war by his factious and ambitious projects, for 
it seems placed beyond a doubt that he aimed at the 
crown for himself. He was killed at the battle of 
Evesham, a.d. 1265. 22 

During the absence of Prince Edward in the Holy 



seventh count in direct line from Berold, who was, for the ser- 
vices he rendered to Rodolph, king of the two Burgundies, 
rewarded with the provinces of Savoy and Maurienne, a.d. 1000. 
According to Buhner, Count Berold was great grandson of 
Witikind the Great. 

21 " Amongst all the matters which aggrieve the nobles and 
great men of any country, there is none which gives such general 
cause of offence as favour shown to overweening foreigners, who, 
forming a little knot or cabal about the person of the sovereign, 
are considered as the possessors of his confidence, to the detri- 
ment of those who claim this trust by reason of their station or 
their services." Sir F. Palgrave, Hist, of the Anglo-Saxons. 

22 Simon de Montfort was a younger son of the Simon de 
Montfort rendered famous for his valour, and infamous for his 
cruelty, in the crusade against the Albigenses. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 103 

Land, the king declined in health, and called aloud 
for his gallant son to return and assist him in the cares 
of government. He died at St. Edmond's-Bury, Nov. 
16th, 1272, in the sixty -fourth year of his age, and 
fifty-sixth of his reign, after a life of constant dissension 
with his subjects. By his Queen Eleanor, Henry III. 
left two sons, Edward, Earl of Chester, his succes- 
sor, born 1239, and Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, 
surnamed Crucheback, or Crouchback, born 1245 ; 
and two daughters, Margaret, born 1241, married to 
Alexander III. King of Scotland, and Beatrice, born 
1242, married to John de Dreux, Duke of Britanny ; 
five other children died in their infancy. 

Queen Eleanor had three sisters, of whom, Cincia 
married Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the 
Romans, second son of King John ; Beatrice married 
Charles, King of Sicily, brother of St. Louis ; the 
eldest sister Margaret became the queen of St. Louis 
IX. of France. 23 

In the twentieth year of Henry III., when the pre- 
lates desired to have the municipal law rendered con- 
formable to the canon, the barons made their celebrated 
reply, " Nolumus leges Angliae mutari." In the year 
1265, occurs, for the first time, the nearest approach to 
our present system of parliamentary representation. 



23 This fact of four sisters becoming queens is said to be with- 
out a parallel in history. 



104 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER VIII. 

" Ruin seize thee, ruthless king ! 
Confusion on thy banners wait ! 

Mark the year and mark the night, 

When Severn shall re-echo with affright, 

The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roofs that ring, 

Shrieks of an agonizing king." gray. 

The House of Plantagenet continued from the 
Accession of Edward I. to the Death of Ed- 
ward II. 

UNTIL the accession of Edward I., a. d. 1272, 
the hereditary order of succession had been 
constantly either invaded or endangered. Even in 
the Anglo-Saxon times this irregularity occurred ; 
the Great Alfred was elected king to the preju- 
dice of his elder brother's children, Edred usurped 
the right of his nephew Edwy, and Edward the Con- 
fessor became king instead of his elder brother Ed- 
mund Ironside's son. In the Anglo-Norman times 
we find younger brothers seizing the inheritance of 
their elder brother, as in the case of William Rufus 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 105 

and Henry Beauclerc ; the latter monarch's daughter 
saw her birthright usurped by Stephen, and John 
seized the rightful inheritance of his elder brother 
Geoffrey's son ; and even when Henry III. ascended 
the throne, the crown had actually been placed upon 
the head of Louis the Dauphin. 

At Henry's death, however, so secured was felt to 
be the rightful inheritance of his son Edward, although 
absent from England, that the prince did not consider 
it necessary to hasten his return, but passed nearly a 
year in France before he came to England. The fame 
which he had acquired in Palestine, hardly inferior to 
that of Cceur-de-Lion, his success against Leicester 
during his father's reign, his moderation, and his 
military talents, caused him to be received with joyful 
acclamations by the people, and he was crowned with 
his consort Eleanor at Westminster, August 19th, 
1274. 1 After correcting the various disorders which 
had arisen during the long and troubled reign of his 
father, and teaching the barons to expect a more 
vigorous and impartial administration of justice, Ed- 



1 Edward's brother-in-law, Alexander III., King of Scots, 
attended this ceremony, accompanied by one hundred knights 
on horseback, who, on dismounting, turned their steeds loose 
among the crowd ; and this example was followed by Edmund, 
Earl of Cornwall, and by the Earls of Pembroke, Gloucester, 
Warenne, and their equally numerous trains of knights. 

Vide Knighton. 



106 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

ward turned his active and warlike thoughts to the 
conquest of Wales, whose prince Llewellyn had been 
deeply engaged in all the plots of the Montfort faction : 
and in 1283, the principality was united to the English 
crown, and soon after, a. d. 1284, April 25, a son 
Edward being born to the king at Caernarvon, he was 
created Prince of Wales, since which time the title 
has been always bestowed upon the eldest sons of the 
sovereigns of England soon after their birth. " The 
Welsh," says Walsingham, " were highly joyed when 
they heard that the young prince was to be known by 
the title of Prince of Wales, reputing him to be their 
legitimate sovereign since he had been born amongst 
them/' 

The king's next and more difficult enterprise was 
directed against Scotland, which country he hoped also 
to annex to England. Alexander III., who had married 
Edward's sister, died from an accident in 1286, leaving 
only a daughter, Margaret, married to Eric, King of 
Norway, and their daughter Margaret, called the 
" Maid of Norway,'' was recognized as successor to 
her grandfather, and although an infant and abroad, 
was acknowledged Queen of Scotland. Edward wished 
to unite the young queen to his son Edward, that in 
time the whole island might form one monarchy, an 
alliance to which the Scottish nation seemed not averse; 
but the treaty came unfortunately to an end by the 
untimely death of the young princess, on her passage 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 107 

from Norway to Scotland. The unhappy contest for 
the crown which followed, in consequence of the failure 
of male issue to William the Lion, will be treated of 
more fully in the chapter of the Kings of Scotland ; 
it will suffice now to allude briefly to the part borne 
by Edward in the affair. 

The interregnum was occupied by this able and 
politic prince to revive his claim of a feudal superiority 
over Scotland, founded upon the alleged cases of 
homage performed by the Scottish monarchs to the 
kings of England ; a claim which, setting aside the 
fact that the homage was for lands in England, had 
been expressly renounced by Richard I. In the year 
1301, Edward sent a remarkable document to Pope 
Boniface VIII., to which a hundred and four of his 
barons assembled in parliament testified their concur- 
rence by setting their seals. In this letter Edward 
attempts to prove the superiority of England by his- 
torical facts deduced from the time of Brutus the 
Trojan, who, he said, founded the British monarchy 
in the age of Eli and Samuel, 2 then alludes to the 



2 The Scots, not to be behind their rivals in claiming a lofty 
pedigree for their nation, in 1320 sent a document to the Pope 
John XXII., in which they derived their descent from Scota, 
daughter of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. As a fitting parallel to 
the English and Scottish claims of antiquity, we may add that 
Irish genealogists affect to derive the O'Briens, Marquesses of 
Thomond, from Hiberius, a cotemporary with Moses ! In J 547, 



108 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

extensive dominions and heroic virtues of King Arthur, 
and at last vouchsafes to descend to the time of Edward 
the Elder. He then asserts it to be a fact " notorious 
and confirmed by the records of antiquity," that the 
English monarchs had often conferred the kingdom of 
Scotland on their own subjects, had dethroned those 
vassal kings when unfaithful to them, and had substi- 
tuted others in their stead ; and he displays with great 
pomp the full and complete homage which William 
the Lion had made to Henry II., without however 
alluding to Coeur-de-Lion's abolition of that extorted 
deed. It is almost needless to say that every instance 
brought forward by Edward was warped and strained 
to suit his purpose. 3 But the Scottish nation, not yet 
enlightened as to Edward's policy, had agreed to appoint 
him umpire between the competitors for the crown, 
which, as is well known, he awarded to John Baliol, 
less, it is presumed, on account of his better right, 
than that he expected to find in him an obedient vassal. 
The subsequent invasion of Scotland by Edward, and 
the heroic resistance of the Scots, first under the 
immortal Wallace, and afterwards under the Bruce, 



A. Kelton published " A chronycle, with a Genealogie decla- 
rynge that the Brittons and Welshmen are lineallye dyscended 
from Brute, newly and very wittely compyled in meter." 12mo. 
3 As well might the kings of France have claimed the sove- 
reignty over England, because our kings performed homage to 
them for Acquitaine and Poictou. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



109 



have been recorded by many writers. Edward was 
about to make a fresh excursion into Scotland, when 
he died near Carlisle, according to Hume, others say 
at Burgh, 4 July 7th, 1307, enjoining his successor 
with his latest breath not to desist from prosecuting 
the war until the country was completely subdued, and 
directing that his bones should not be buried, but 
carried with the army until that consummation. Ed- 
ward I. was in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and the 
thirty-fifth of his reign when he died. By his first 
queen, married 1254, the excellent and devoted 
Eleanor, only daughter of Ferdinand III., King 
of Castile and Leon, 5 by Joan, daughter and heir of 
John, Earl of Ponthieu, he had four sons, three of 
whom, John, 6 Henry, and Alphonso, died young ; his 
fourth son was his successor Edward : and nine 
daughters, most of whom died young ; of the survivors, 

" At Burgh upon the sande he died anone." 

HAKDYNG, p. 304. 

5 Ferdinand III. was grandson of Alphonso IX., King of 
Castile, and Eleanor, daughter of Henry II., King of England. 
The arms of Castile and Leon were, Quarterly, first and fourth, 
gules, a castle or, for Castile ; second and third, argent, a lion 
rampant gules, for Leon. 

6 The eldest son of Edward, so called from St. Jean d'Acre, 
died when his father was abroad, and just after he heard of the 
death of Henry III., when the latter event appearing to affect 
him more than the loss of his child, the King of Sicily expressed 
his surprise at this difference of feeling, when Edward answered, 
" I may have more sons, but never another father." 



110 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Joan called of Acre, from her birth-place, born 1272, 
married first, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, 7 
and secondly, Ralph de Monthermer ; Margaret, born 
1275, married John III., Duke of Brabant; and 
Elizabeth, born 1284, espoused first, John I., Count 
of Holland, and secondly, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl 
of Hereford. Edward's truly admirable queen, adorned 
with every public and private virtue, died in 1290, 
having hardly ever left her husband's side during a 
marriage of thirty-six years. She is spoken of by all 
historians in terms of the highest praise. " She was," 
says Holinshed, " a godlie and modest princesse, full 
of pitie, and one that shewed much favour to the 
English nation ; readie to releeve everie man's greefe 
that susteined wrong, and to make them freends that 
were at discord, so farre as in her laie." 8 Her royal 
husband removed her body from Nottinghamshire, 
where she died, by short stages to Westminster, and 
erected a stately cross " of cunning workmanship" at 
every place where the corpse rested ; of these monu- 
ments of conjugal affection only three remain, namely, 
at Geddington, Northampton, and Waltham ; the 



7 Elizabeth, daughter of the princess Joan and Gilbert de 
Clare, became heir of her brother, slain at Bannockburn, and 
conveyed the rich possessions of her family into the house of De 
Burgh, by her marriage with John de Burgh, and from them 
descended Elizabeth, wife of Lionel of Clarence.. 

8 sub anno 1291. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. Ill 

other places were, Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, 
Stoney Stratford, Dunstable, St. Alban's, Tottenham, 
and Charing- ; Holinshed and Glover say that another 
was set up in Westcheap, now Cheapside. 

In 1299 Edward married secondly, Margaret of 
France, daughter of Philip the Hardy, by Mary of 
Brabant, and had two sons, Thomas de Brotherton, 
Earl of Norfolk, born 1300, died 1338, 9 and Edmond 
of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, born 1301 ; a daughter 
died young. 

Hume calls Edward " the model of a politic and 
warlike king, he possessed industry, penetration, cou- 
rage, vigilance, and enterprise." His graciousness of 
manner, his wisdom, added to his warlike fame, gained 
him the affections of the people. His treatment of 
the patriotic Wallace is a blot in Edward's escutcheon, 
not effaced by all his military prowess, and his rigor- 
ous measures against the Scots gained for him the 
appropriate inscription on his tomb in Westminster 
Abbey : 

" EDWARDUS PRIMUS, SCOTORUM MALLEUS, H1C EST." 

His title of the English Justinian was better earned 
from his improvement of the ancient laws. Fuller 

9 Thomas de Brotherton died without male issue, but his 
daughter, Margaret Plantagenet, by her marriage with John 
Lord Segrave, became ancestress of many noble houses, among 
whom are those of the Howards, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls 
of Suffolk, and of Carlisle, and the Howards of Effingham. 



112 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

quaintly says of him, " He was so fortunate with the 
sword at the beginning of his reign, that he awed all 
his enemies with his scabbard before the end of it." 

The same author 10 explains Edward's cognomen of 
Longshanks, by "his step being another man's stride." 

a. d. 1307. Edward II., surnamed of Caernar- 
von, was in his twenty-third year when he ascended 
the throne, and he soon showed how deficient he was 
in the virtues and talents of his great father. Un- 
mindful of the warning afforded by his grandfather's 
fatal error of favouritism, Edward committed the same 
mistake, and first Gaveston, and then the Despencers, 
by the partiality shown to them from the king, and 
by their own insolence, roused the powerful barons to 
open revolt, and to become the executioners of the 
royal favourites, of the former, in 1312, of the latter, 
in 1326. 

In 1314 the great battle of Bannockburn which 
Hume calls " the greatest overthrow that the English 
nation had received since the Conquest," 11 secured the 



10 The poet Coleridge thus writes of Dr. Thomas Fuller : 
" His wit, alike in quantity, quality, and perpetuity, surpassing 
that of the wittiest in a witty age, robbed him of the praise not 
less due to him for an equal superiority in sound, shrewd, good 
sense, and freedom of intellect." Literary Remains, vol. ii. p. 
381. 

11 Sir W. Scott mentions " a broad-sword transmitted from 
father to son with this proud inscription : — 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 113 

independence of Scotland, and firmly seated the heroic 

Bruce on the throne he had so well earned. 

Edward II., before his accession, according to some 

writers, but in 1308, as others state, married Isabella 

of France, then in her fourteenth year, daughter of 

Philip the Fair, an alliance which in the end proved 

most unfortunate for him. This artful and wicked 

woman, 

" She-wolf of France," 

having formed a criminal attachment to Roger Mor- 
timer, determined to ruin the king, and gathering a 
large party of the discontented nobles to her faction, 
soon obtained possession of her husband's person, who, 
being summoned before a parliament of Isabella's 
assembling, January 20th, 1327, was compelled to 
resign his crown to his son Edward, then fourteen 
years old, and being carried to prison was soon after, 
Sept. 21, inhumanly murdered in Berkeley Castle by 
the ruffianly minions of Mortimer ; and thus a king 
of mild and inoffensive manners, but unfitted to govern 
in turbulent times, met a death too horrid to contem- 
plate to gratify the evil passions of a vindictive 
woman. 

Edward II. left by Isabella, who is called by 



At Bannockburn I served the Bruce, 
Of whilk the Inglis had na russ." 

Hist, of Scotland, vol. i. ch. 1 



114 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Froissart, " one of the fairest ladyes of the world," 
two sons, Edward of Windsor, his successor, born 
Nov. 13th, 1312, and John of Eltham, Earl of Corn- 
wall, who died young in 1 334 ; and two daughters, 
Jane, called Make-peace, who in 1329 married David 
II., King of Scots, son of King Robert Bruce ; and 
Eleanor, who married Reginald II., Count of Guel- 
ders. 

" Edward II. in his time builded two houses in 
Oxford for good letters, to wit, Oriel College, and 
St. Mary Hall." 12 

In this reign perished Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 
a prince of the blood, and one of the most powerful 
barons that had ever been seen in England. He 
was son of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, 
younger son of Henry III., and possessed in his own 
right and in that of his wife, an heiress of the great 
house of Lacy, no less than six earldoms. He acted very 
much the part of Montfort in the reign of Henry III., 
being at the head of all the factions against the royal 
authority ; but taken prisoner at the battle of Borough- 
Bridge, he suffered execution as a rebel, March 23rd, 
1322. He died without issue, and his brother Henry 
Plantagenet became his heir, whose granddaughter 
Blanche conveyed the rich possessions of her family 
to a younger branch of Edward III., by her marriage 



Foxe. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 115 

with John of Gaunt, and when their son Henry Boling- 
broke became king, the duchy of Lancaster merged in 
the crown of England, and has ever since given a title 
to the reigning sovereign; thus her present Majesty 
is Duchess of Lancaster. 12 



12 It is not perhaps so generally known as it ought to be, that 
the revenues of the duchy of Lancaster, with other crown lands, 
have become, by recent arrangements, part of the public pro- 
perty. In the last returns the nett annual income arising from 
this source was ^.160,000. It is lamentable to behold persons, 
who ought to be acquainted with such facts, holding forth to 
the world that the sovereign of this kingdom is dependant 
upon public bounty for support, whereas it is forgotten to state 
that the sovereign no longer retains, except in name, those vast 
and rich domains which, originally either reserved by the Nor- 
man Conqueror for himself, or portioned out to his fortunate 
captains, and in time lapsed to the crown, would, if still held by 
it, render it the richest house in Europe. Where are the vast 
possessions, to go no higher, of the houses of Lancaster, York, 
Marche, Ulster, Clare, and others, all of which, with their titles, 
merged in the crown 1 Where the proceeds arising from the 
dowries brought by marriage, to English and Scottish kings ? 
Surely it is absurd to consider the descendant of him who gave 
away lands in England at his pleasure, in the light of a pen- 
sioner. 



116 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER IX. 

" Mighty victor, mighty Lord ! 

Low on his funeral couch he lies, 
No pitying heart, no eye affords 

A tear to grace his obsequies." gray. 

" Your grandfather of famous memory, an't please your 
Majesty, and your great uncle Edward the plack prince of 
Wales, as I have read in the chronicles, fought a most prave 
pattle here in France." King Henry V. Act iv. sc. 7. 

The House o/*Plantagenet continued from 
Edward III. 

ALTHOUGH Edward III. had the title of 
king, a. d. 1327, the actual power was in the 
hands of his mother as regent, and of her favourite 
Mortimer. But when Edward grew in years, he 
determined to free himself and the nation from such 
a disgraceful rule. Mortimer, whose insolence knew 
no bounds, had even caused Edmund, the Earl of 
Kent, 1 a prince of the blood, to be executed, and 



1 Edmund of Woodstock, youngest son of Edward L, by his 
second queen : he married Margaret Wake, a descendant of the 
famous Saxon Hereward de Wake, who so long opposed William 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 117 

his power every day grew more formidable, and his 
person more hateful to the barons. " The old queene, 
Sir Roger Mortimer, and the bishop of Ely," says 
Foxe, " in such sort ruled the rost, that all the rest 
of the nobles and barons cast with themselves howe 
best they might redresse and remedie the great in- 
conveniences that unto the reaulme, by means of 
them grewe and happened." The king, aided by the 
barons, took Mortimer prisoner in the strong castle 
of Nottingham, when being condemned by parliament, 
the unworthy minion was hanged on a gibbet, Nov. 
29th, 1330. The queen sank into the contempt she 
deserved, and survived the death of her favourite for 
twenty-five years. 

Edward III. now assumed the reins of government, 
and turned his attention to Scotland, whose heroic 
king Robert Bruce was dead, and his son David, a 
minor, on the throne. In the battle of Halidown Hill, 
fought July 19th, 1333, the Scots under the regent 
Douglas were defeated with a loss of thirty thousand 



the Conqueror; their daughter was Joan, the Fair Maid of 
Kent, mother of Richard II., by her cousin the Black Prince ; 
and by her first husband, Sir Thomas Holland, she had a son, 
whose daughter married Roger Mortimer, presumptive heir to 
the throne, which came to their great grandson Edward IV. 
See Table XVIII. 

The arms of Wake are " Or, two bars gules, in chief three 
torteauxes." 



118 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

men, and Edward Baliol, son of John, the former 
king of Scotland, was for a short time placed on the 
throne. Edward next laid claim to the kingdom of 
France, 2 in right of his mother Isabel, only daughter 
of Philip the Fair, and sister to the three last kings of 
France, Louis le Hutin, Philip the Long, and Charles 
the Fair, none of whom had issue male, but all of 
whom left daughters. Philip of Valois, cousin -german 
to the last named king, on his death in 1328, had 
ascended the throne according to the principle of the 
salic law, which excluded females from the succession. 3 
For nine hundred years none who founded his title 
on a female has mounted the throne of France, yet 
in opposition to this well known rule of succession, 
Edward maintained that his claim was better than 



• 2 Edward III. added the lilies of France to the lions of 
England, quartering them in support of his claim to the throne 
of France through his mother. He bore his arms, " Quarterly, 
France and England, first and fourth, azure, three fleurs-de-lys 
or ; second and third, gules, three lions passant gardant or." — 
Glover. Heylin, Edmondson, and many writers make the field 
of France to be seme of fleur-de-lys. These continued to be 
the bearings of the succeeding sovereigns until the accession of 
James I., who brought in the lion rampant of Scotland, and the 
golden harp of Ireland; but the golden lilies continued to be 
borne, with the title of King of France, until late in the reign 
of George III. 

3 Philip of Valois was son of Charles of Valois, son of Philip 
the Hardy, and married Jane, daughter of Robert II., Duke of 
Burgundy (descended from Hugh Capet) ; their descendant in 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



119 



that of Philip, and to support this unreasonable asser- 
tion, he began a war between the two countries, which 
not only endured directly for upwards of a century, 
but also indirectly sowed the seeds of a more lasting 
animosity. 

The battle of Crecy in 1346, gained by Edward III. 
and his gallant son the Black Prince, against three 
times their number, will always be considered as one 
of the proudest instances of English valour, 4 and it 
was equalled by the victory of Poictiers, obtained in 
1356 by the Black Prince, with a still greater dispro- 
portion of numbers, with the loss to the French of 
their King John, who was taken prisoner. During 
Edward's absence in France, his queen Philippa, 
worthy to be the consort of her warlike husband, 



the fifth generation, Catharine of France, widow of our Henry 
V., became, by her subsequent marriage to Owen Tudor, one of 
her present Majesty's progenitors. 

4 The great poet exults in the glory of the English, and 
prowess of the Black Prince: 

" Who on the French ground play'd a tragedy, 

Making defeat on the full power of France ; 

Whiles his most mighty father on a hill, 

Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp 

Forage in blood of French nobility. 

O noble English, that could entertain 

With half their forces the full pride of France, 

And let another half stand laughing by, 

All out of work, and cold for action." 

K. Hen. V. Act i. sc. 2. 



120 ANCSTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

gained the battle of Neville's Cross, and with twelve 
thousand men defeated the Scots with fifty thousand, 
taking their King David II. prisoner, Oct. 17th, 1346. 
Thus, as if Fortune were determined 

" to fill King Edward's fame with prisoner kings," 

he had two of his greatest rivals in his power at the 
same time, and a proud day was it for the citizens of 
London, when, in 1363, Sir Henry Picard, who had 
been Lord Mayor in 1356, feasted four kings at his 
table, namely, Edward of England, John of France, 
David of Scotland, and Peter King of Cyprus. John 
died in his captivity in London, at the Savoy Palace, 
1364 ; David was set free on ransom. The heroic 
Black Prince died of consumption, or according to 
some writers of dropsy, June 8th, 1376, in his forty- 
sixth year, beloved by the nation of which he was the 
greatest ornament, not only for his valour and military 
talent, but for his moderation, generosity, and huma- 
nity, and left behind him a name, the brightest in the 
annals of England's chivalry : 

In war was never lion raged more fierce, 
In peace was never gentle lamb more mild, 
Than was that young and princely gentleman. 5 

Edward, " the Black Prince," besides being Prince 
of Wales, was Duke of Cornwall, the first instance of 

5 King Richard II. Act ii. sc. 1. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 121 

the creation of a duke taking place in his favour by a 
charter of 11 Edward III., wherein he was declared 
Duke of Cornwall, to hold to himself and his heirs 
kings of England, and to their first-born sons, by 
which charter the eldest son of the sovereign becomes 
Duke of Cornwall the instant he is born; or as 
Gwillim expresses it, he is " Dux natus, non creatus," 
whereas the title of Prince of Wales is always bestowed 
by a creation. The Prince of Wales in 1361 married 
his cousin the " Fair Maid of Kent," Joan, daughter 
of Edmund of Woodstock, widow of Sir Thomas Hol- 
land, and by her had a son Edward, born 1365, who 
died young, and Richard, called of Bourdeaux, from 
the place of his birth, 1366, who was afterwards King 
of England. 

Edward III. did not long survive his gallant son, 
he died June 21st, 1377, in the sixty-fifth year of his 
age, and fifty-first of his reign. 6 His foreign wars 
were the means of carrying abroad the unruly spirits 
who thereby had not leisure to nourish dissensions at 
home, and his dazzling career of glory blinded the 
eyes of his admiring subjects, freed from civil commo- 
tions, to the injustice of his foreign attempts. Edward's 



6 " Edward III. was the first king of England who used a 
crest on his seal of arms, and for that purpose he bore, on a 
chapeau or cap of state, a lion passant gardant, crowned with an 
open crown. And this became the crest of the imperial achieve- 
ment of England." Edmondson's Heraldry, p. 183. 



122 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

queen the heroic Philippa, married 1327, was fourth 
and youngest daughter of William, Earl of Hainault 
and Holland, 7 by Jane or Joan, daughter of Charles 
of Valois, son of Philip the Hardy, the son of St. 
Louis. Queen Philippa bore her husband seven sons 8 
and five daughters; the former were, 1. Edward, 
Prince of Wales, born June 15th, 1330 ; 2. William 
of Hatfield, born 1336, who died early ; 3. Lionel of 
Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, born 1338 ; 4. John of 
Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, born 1340 ; 5. Edmund 
of Langley, Duke of York, born 1341 ; 6. Thomas, 
Duke of Gloucester, born 1355 ; 7. another William, 
surnamed of Windsor. The daughters were, 1. Joan, 
affianced to Alphonso, King of Castile ; 2. Isabella, 
who married Ingelram de Coucy, created Duke of 
Bedford ; 9 3. Mary, who married John (de Montfort) 
V., Duke of Britanny; 4. Margaret, who espoused 
John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke ; 5. Blanche, died 
young. 

7 Queen Philippa's father bore for arms, " Quarterly, first and 
fourth, or, a lion rampant sable, for Hainault ; second and third, 
or, a lion rampant gules, for Holland." The House of Valois 
bore, " Azure, seme de fleurs-de-lys or, a bordure gules." 

8 " Edward's seven sons, — 

Were as seven phials of his sacred blood, 
Or seven fair branches springing from one root." 
Rich. II. Act i. sc. 2. 

9 Mary, daughter of Ingelram de Coucy and Isabella, married 
Robert de Barr, whose daughter Joan became the wife of Lewis, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 123 

Queen Philippa, called by an old writer 10 " the 
mirrour as it were of her sex," was as much distin- 
guished for her humanity as for heroism and beauty ; 
her successful pleading for the six patriotic burgesses 
of Calais, and thus saving her husband from the 
infamy of sacrificing brave men whose only offence 
was that of having fulfilled their duty, will be remem- 
bered as long as Edward's warlike fame. Philippa 
died August 15th, 1369. 11 

In the year 1349, that is, after the dates of the 
battle of Crecy, 1346, and the siege of Calais, 1347, 
Edward III. instituted " the Most Noble Order of the 
Garter," which consisted of the sovereign and twenty- 
five knights, and this number was never to be increased. 
The names of the " first founders," as they are called, 
will be seen in the appendix, in the order in which 
they were created. 12 

Edward III. was the first that used supporters to 
the arms of England; viz. "on the dexter, a lion 

Earl of St. Pol, and from them descended Jacqueline, mother of 
Edward the Fourth's queen. 

10 Hearne. 

11 The death-bed scene of Edward III. presents a parallel to 
that of William the Conqueror, in being deserted by all those 
who had basked in the sunshine of royal favour. One poor 
priest only (like Harlaven de Burgo in the time of the Norman), 
was found faithful to the duty of remaining by the breathless 
body of the once mighty leader of armies. 

12 First Founders of the Order, D. 



124 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

gardant, crowned or ; on the sinister, an eagle or falcon 
proper, crowned or." ,3 

To this monarch are the sovereigns of England 
indebted for the stately castle of Windsor, the most 
princely and majestic royal residence in Europe. Its 
architect was the famous ecclesiastic William of Wyke- 
ham, bishop of Winchester, who was in great danger 
of being ruined by an inscription he had placed on one 
of the stones of the building, " Thys made Wykeham," 
words which his enemies alleged were a proof of pre- 
sumption, but which he adroitly pointed out as alluding 
to the advancement of his fortune. 

On the death of Edward III., the crown passed to 
his grandson Richard II., then eleven years old, under 
the guardianship of his uncles, Lancaster, York, and 
Gloucester. The courage and presence of mind dis- 
played by the young king in the memorable insurrec- 
tion of Wat Tyler, deserted him in after life, and his 
injustice to his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, son of 
John of Gaunt, 14 led to his deposition in that cousin's 



13 Edmondson's Heraldry. 

14 When John of Gaunt died, in 1399, Richard II. seized 
upon all his lands and treasures, unmindful of the right in them 
possessed by Henry Bolingbroke. 

" The lining of his coffers shall make coats 
To deck our soldiers for these Irish wars. 



Towards our assistance, we do seize to us 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 125 

favour, who ascended the throne in the year 1399, 
Sept. 29, under the name of Henry IV. Richard is 
generally considered the last of the race of Plantagenet 
who sat upon the throne, although it was revived in 
Edward IV., who, a Plantagenet by birth, is from his 
father's title called the first king of the House of York. 
Richard II. left no issue by his queen, Anne of Bo- 
hemia, who died in 1394 ; she was daughter of the 
Emperor Charles IV., whose father was John, King 
of Bohemia, slain at Crecy. Two years after her 
death, Richard was affianced to Isabel, daughter of 
Charles VI., King of France, but the marriage was 
never solemnized, Isabel was then only eight years of 
age : it is this last princess who is introduced in Shak- 
speare's play as the " queen to King Richard," the 
poet probably considering her the actual, and not 
merely affianced wife of the unhappy king, as we 
gather, when the king bids her " the good sometime 
queen" to seek refuge in France, 

" from whence, set forth in pomp, 
She came adorned hither like sweet May, 
Sent back like Hallowmas, or short'st of day. 15 

Richard in his last moments displayed some of his 



The plate, coin, revenues, and moveables, 
Whereof our uncle Gaunt did stand possessed." 

K. RICHARD II. 

15 K. Richard II. Act v. sc. i. 



123 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

father's courage when in Pontefract Castle (a. d. 1400) 
he received his death from the " fierce hand" of Sir 
Pierce of Exton. 16 The real title to the crown at 
Richard's death was in Edmund Mortimer, whose 
father Roger Mortimer, fourth Earl of March, grand- 
son of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, was, in 1385, de- 
clared by parliament to be heir to the throne in the 
event of Richard II. dying without issue. Roger, 
Earl of March, was slain in Ireland in a skirmish 
with the natives in 1398, and it was to avenge his 
death that Richard went over to Ireland, thereby 
leaving his kingdom open to the attempt of Boling- 
broke. 

" Now for the rebels which, stand out in Ireland." 

We will ourself in person to this war. 



All these well furnish'd by the duke of Bretagne, 
With eight tall ships, three thousand men of war, 
Are making hither with all due expedience, 
And shortly mean to touch our northern shore : 



16 The popular and Shakspearean version of Richard's death, 
characteristic as it would be in a son of the Black Prince, " as 
full of valour, as of royal blood," has in the present century been 
almost disproved ; but singularly enough, two accounts are given 
of his fate. One in which the old chroniclers, Thomas of Wai- 
singham, Otterbourne, Gower the poet, and others, are followed 
by Mr. Amyot and the late lamented Lord Dover, is that Richard 
voluntarily starved himself to death. Another opinion was put 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 127 

Perhaps, they had ere this ; but that they stay 
The first departing of the king for Ireland." 

Act ii. sc. 1. 

Henry IV., who died March 20th, 1413, married, 
before he came to the crown, Mary, second daughter 
of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, grandson 
of Humphrey de Bohun, who married Elizabeth Plan- 
tagenet, daughter of King Edward I. Henry Boling- 
broke became Earl of Hereford, in right of his wife, 
who died before he came to the throne, having borne 
him six children, namely, 1. Henry of Monmouth, 
born 1388, afterwards Henry V.; 2. Blanche, who 
became the first wife of Louis III., surnamed the 
Bearded, Duke of Bavaria; 3. Thomas, Duke of 
Clarence, who was slain at Beauge, 1421, leaving no 
children ; 4. John, the famous regent of France, 
Duke of Bedford, died 1435 without issue ; 17 5. Hum- 
phrey, "the good Duke of Gloucester," died 1447, 
and left no issue ; 6. Philippa, who married in 1405, 
Eric X., King of Norway. 



forth by Mr. Tytler, and quoted approvingly by Sir Walter 
Scott, viz. that Richard made his escape from prison, and was 
honourably maintained by Robert III. of Scotland, and after- 
wards by the regent Albany, and that he died at Stirling in the 
year 1419. 

" A braver soldier never couched lance, 
A gentler heart did never sway in court." 

1 K. Hen. VI. Act iii. sc. 2. 



128 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Henry IV. married secondly, after he was king, 
1403, Joan, daughter of Charles II., King of Navarre, 
and widow of John de Montfort, Duke of Britanny ; 
she died in 1437 without issue. 

Henry V., so well known as the " Prince Hal" of 
Shakspeare, succeeded his father in 1413. Before his 
accession he had 

" Mingled his royalty with capering fools, 
With shallow jesters, and rash bavin wits ;" 

his reckless youth however belied his mature manhood, 

for 

" The breath no sooner left his father's body, 
But that his wildness, mortified in him, 
Seem'd to die too ; yea, at that very moment, 
Consideration like an angel came 
And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him." 

The battle of Agincourt gained by Henry V., in 
1415, over the French, with the same disproportion 
of numbers on either side as composed the two armies 
in the battle of Poictiers, is another of the memorable 
victories in which English courage has been conspicu- 
ous against " fearful odds." The conquests of Henry 
V. in France compelled Charles VI. to make terms 
with him, the principal articles of the treaty being 
that the French king should recognize Henry as his 
heir and successor, to the exclusion of all those who 
had a direct family right, and should give him his 
daughter Katherine in marriage. Henry V., " too 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 129 

famous to live long," died in 1442, August 31, leaving 
by Queen Katherine, 18 a son only nine months old. 

" Henry the Sixth, in infant bands crown'd king 
Of France and England, did this king succeed ; 

Whose state so many had the managing, 
That they lost France, and made his England bleed." 

Perhaps no sovereign of any country was ever so 
completely the sport of fortune as the last of the 
House of Lancaster. He is the only king of England 
who at the same time was really king of France, for 
although since his time our kings have been accustomed 
to style themselves kings of France, and to quarter 
the ileur-de-lys with the lion even until very lately, 
in the reign of George III, yet Henry VI. alone is 
entitled to bear the double honour, since he was not 
only proclaimed, but crowned in Paris, as well as in 
London. 19 But the extraordinary success which at- 
tended the mission of the Maid of Orleans caused him 
to lose France, and the pretensions of the House of 
York led to his deposition in England in favour of 
Edward IV., when the throne was again occupied 
by the rightful claimant in the direct line of succession 
from Edward III. 

Henry VI. married, in 1445, Margaret, daughter of 



18 The widow of Henry V. became the wife of Owen Tudor. 
See Chapter XV. 

19 Henry VI. was crowned at Paris, Dec. 7th, 1431. 



130 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Rene, or Regnier, King of Naples, " le bon Rene," 
who also enjoyed the high-sounding but empty style 
of King of Jerusalem ; 20 he was great grandson of 
John, King of France, the captive of the Black Prince. 
Margaret, who was a princess of 

" Valiant courage, and undaunted spirit 
More than in women commonly is seen," 

was long the chief prop of her husband's falling for- 
tunes ; their only child was Edward, Prince of Wales, 
born 1453, who married in 1470, the Lady Anne 
Neville, 21 second daughter of Richard the great Earl 
of Warwick, the 

" Proud setter-up and puller-down of kings !" 

The Prince of Wales was slain after the battle of 
Tewkesbury, in 1470. 



20 « Thy father bears the type of King of Naples, 

Of both the Sicils, and Jerusalem ; 

Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman." 

3 K. Hen. VI. Act i. sc. 4. 

21 Shakspeare calls her eldest daughter in the third part of 
Hen. VI. Act iii. sc. 3, where Warwick states that 

" If our queen and this young prince agree, 
I'll join mine eldest daughter." 
But in Richard III. Act i. sc. 1, Gloster is made to say of the 
"Lady Anne"— 

" For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter : 
What though I kill'd her husband and her father !" 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 131 

" A sweeter and a lovelier gentleman, 
Fram'd in the prodigality of nature, 
Young, valiant, wise, and, no doubt, right royal, 
The spacious world cannot again afford." 

In him expired the last male descendant of Henry 
IV. His widow married secondly, the Duke of 
Gloucester, afterwards Richard III., a match which 
excited the surprise even of that unscrupulous person- 
age ; 

" What I, that kill'd her husband, and his father, 
To take her in her heart's extremest hate ?" 23 



Richard III. Act i. sc. 2. 



132 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER X. 

" But soft I pray you : did King Richard then 

Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer 

Heir to the crown?" 1 K. Hen. IV. Act i. sc. 3. 

" King Richard thus removed* 
Leaving no heir begotten of his body, 
I was the next by birth and parentage ; 
For by my mother I derived am 
From Lionel Duke of Clarence, the third son 
To King Edward the Third." 

1 K. Hen. VI. Act ii. sc. 5. 

The Pedigree of Edward IV. from Lionel Duke 
of Clarence. 

WHEN Richard II. died, the true heir to the 
throne was to be found in the representative 
of Lionel, the next brother of Edward the Black 
Prince. Lionel of Antwerp, so called from the place 
of his birth, created Duke of Clarence in 1362, third 
son of Edward III., of all the family resembled his 
great father and brother most in princely and noble 
qualities. His father had proposed that he should be 
recognized as heir to the Scottish throne after David 
II., who was without issue, to the unjustifiable exclu- 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 133 

sion of the Steward of Scotland, son of the brave 
Walter the Steward and Marjory Bruce, upon whom 
the succession had been settled. But the Scottish 
parliament, whilst they admitted the high and princely 
qualifications of Lionel, rejected the proposal with 
indignation, a. d. 1363. Lionel was in 1360 created 
a Knight of the Garter, being the twenty-eighth in 
the list of that illustrious order. He died during his 
father's life-time in the year 1368. He first married 
Elizabeth de Burgh, daughter and heir of Wil- 
liam de Burgh, third and last Earl of Ulster of 
the name, who died 1333, by Maud Plantagenet, 
daughter of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, son of 
Edmund Crouchback, the son of Henry III. By 
this alliance the possessions of the House of De 
Burgh, with the rich province of Ulster, passed into 
the family of Lionel, and thence, through the Morti- 
mers, merged in the crown. Lionel, after the death 
of his first wife, married Violante, daughter of Galeazzo 
Visconti, Lord of Milan, but by her had no issue. 1 
By his first wife he had only one child, his daughter 
Philippa, who became sole heir of Ulster, and 
prospective heir to the throne ; she married Edmund 



1 The brother of Violante, Gean-Galeazzo, created first Duke 
of Milan, had two daughters, Lucia, who married Edmund, Earl 
of Kent, and Valentina, who by Louis, Duke of Orleans, was 
mother of Charles de Valois, father of Louis XII. of France. 



134 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Mortimer, third Earl of Marche, and had by him 
two sons, Roger Mortimer, his successor, and Sir 
Edmund, who married a daughter of Owen Glendower, 
and two daughters, Elizabeth, who married Henry 
Percy, surnamed " Hotspur," 2 and Philippa, the wife 
successively of John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, 
Richard Earl of Arundel, and John, Lord St. John. 
Roger Mortimer, fourth Earl of Marche in right of 
his father, and Earl of Ulster in that of his mother, 
married Eleanor Holland, daughter of Thomas Hol- 
land Earl of Kent, by Alice Fitzalan, which Thomas 
was son of Thomas Holland, also Earl of Kent, in 
virtue of having married Joan, Countess of Kent, 
commonly called the " Fair Maid of Kent." Roger 
Mortimer who, as before observed, had been declared 
heir presumptive to Richard II., in 1387, died in that 



2 Henry Percy, surnamed " Hotspur," is a lineal ancestor of 
the present Duke of Northumberland, who is fourteenth in 
descent from that famous warrior. Shakspeare, in the first part 
of King Henry IV., has been led into an error with respect to 
the marriages of some of his characters. He makes Hotspur 
call his wife Kate, and styles her " Lady Percy, sister to Mor- 
timer," whilst he calls " Lady Mortimer daughter to Glendower, 
and wife to Mortimer," whom he styles " Edmund, Earl of 
March." It is evident that the poet has put the son for the 
father, Roger Mortimer, whose brother, Sir Edmund Mortimer, 
knight, married the great Welshman's daughter. Roger Mor- 
timer died in 1398, two years before the battle of Holmedon, at 
the date of which the play commences. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 135 

king's life-time, 1399, leaving by Eleanor Holland 
three children, Edmund, Anne, and Eleanor. Edmund 
Mortimer, who was the true heir to Richard, was 
never able to obtain his right ; he married Anne, 
daughter of the Earl of Stafford, by Anne, daughter 
of Thomas of Woodstock, but dying in 1424 without 
issue, 3 his right to the succession belonged to his sister 
and heir Anne, who married her kinsman Richard 
Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge, and conveyed 
her right to her son Richard, Duke of York, who 
thus became the representative of the two lines of 
Clarence and York, and although he did not succeed 
in obtaining the actual title of royalty, he at one time 
possessed the power, and his son sat on the throne as 
Edward IV. 

3 Edmund Mortimer died in the castle of Trim, in Ireland, 
3 Henry VI., having been detained a prisoner for twenty-one 
years. His sister Eleanor became the wife of Hugh Courtney, 
eldest son of Hugh, Earl of Devon, but died without issue. In 
the first part of King Henry VI., Edmund Mortimer is correctly 
introduced as a prisoner, though his place of confinement is 
there made to be the Tower of London. 

" Since Henry Monmouth first began to reign, 
(Before whose glory I was great in arms), 
This loathsome sequestration have I had.'' 



136 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER XI. 

" Thy father, Earl of Cambridge, — then derived 
From famous Edmund Langley, Duke of York," 

1 P. King Henry VI. 

'* I have considered with myself 
The title of this most renowned duke ; 
And, in my conscience, do repute his grace, 
The rightful heir to England's royal seat." 

2 Henry VI. Act i. sc. 1. 

The Descent of Edward TV .from Edmund 
Langley. 

EDWARD IV. was derived from Edward III., 
in unbroken male descent, from his fifth son 
Edmund, surnamed of Langley, who was created 
Earl of Cambridge by his father in 1362, and Duke 
of York in 1385, by his nephew Richard II., to whom 
he was one of the three guardians ; but his natural 
indolence made him give way before his more impetuous 
brother of Lancaster. He was one of the commis- 
sioners appointed by parliament, 1398, and invested 
with the whole power both of Lords and Commons. 
In 1399 the Duke of York was left sole guardian of 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 137 

the realm upon the occasion of Richard II. going to 

Ireland : 

" To-morrow next 

We will for Ireland, and 'tis time, I trow ; 
And we create in absence of ourself, 
Our uncle York, lord governor of England, 
For he is just, and always loved us well." 

RICHARD II. 

During Richard's absence Henry Bolingbroke landed 
from exile, under pretence of claiming only his patri- 
monial inheritance : 

" His coming hither hath no further scope, 
Than for his lineal royalties." 

Turning his popularity to account, Henry obtained 
the crown of the deposed king, to which he had right- 
ful claim by inheritance. Shakspeare places in York's 
mouth the fine description of the entry of Bolingbroke 
and Richard into London. The duke died in the 
reign of his nephew Henry IV., in 1401, according to 
Glover, but in 1402 according to Sir Harris Nicolas. 
His first wife was Isabel of Castile, " a woman very 
tender and delicate," (the " Duchess of York" in 
Richard II.,) youngest daughter of Peter, King of 
Castile and Leon, and by her he had one daughter, 
Constance, who first married Thomas Despencer, 
Earl of Gloucester, and two sons, Edward, first 
created Earl of Rutland, then Duke of Albemarle, 
1397, the " Aumerle" in the play, who succeeded his 



138 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

father as Duke of York ; he married Philippa, 1 daugh- 
ter and co-heir of John de Mohun, Lord Dunster, 
but left no issue; he fell gloriously upon the field 
of Agincourt, where he had " the leading of the 
vaward." 2 

Edmund Langley's second son was Richard, sur- 
named of Coningsburg, who was created Earl of 
Cambridge in 1414 ; 3 he married Anne, great grand- 
daughter of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, sister and heir 
of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of Marche, as shown in 
the preceding chapter. The Earl of Cambridge, in 
the reign of Henry V., entered into a conspiracy to 
place his brother-in-law Mortimer upon the throne, but 
the plot being detected, the Earl of Cambridge, Henry, 
Lord Scrope of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey of 
Heton, were executed in 1415. In the play of Henry 
V., Shakspeare makes out that they suifered the penal- 
ties of treason for having conspired to kill the king, 

1 Philippa, widow of the Duke of York, married secondly, 
Walter Fitzwalter, who, or a son, is brought strangely into col- 
lision with " Aumerle," in the play of Richard II., under the 
title of" Lord Fitzwater." 

2 York. My lord, most humbly on my knee I beg 
The leading of the vaward. 

K. Hen. Take it, brave York. 

Henry V. Act iv. sc. 3. 

3 Holinshed states that he was born in the very ancient 
castle of Coningsburg, of which Sir Waller Scott gives so 
interesting a description in his "Ivanhoe." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



139 



thereto engaged by French gold, without a hint of 
Mortimer's restoration being the object. 

" You have conspired against our royal person, 
Join'd with an enemy proclaim'd, and from his coffers 
Received the golden earnest of our death ; 
Wherein you would have sold your king to slaughter." 4 

Yet in the play of the first part of Henry VI. 
Mortimer is made to say that the Earl of Cambridge 

" in pity of my hard distress 
Levied an army ; weening to redeem, 
And have install'd me in the diadem : 
But, as the rest, so fell that noble earl, 
And was beheaded." Act ii. sc. 5. 

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, son of 

Richard, Earl of Cambridge and Anne Mortimer, 

possessed in right of his mother the true title to the 

crown, then held by the House of Lancaster ; and it 

was to recover this right that the famous contest 

began between the two rival houses of York and 

Lancaster, which, under the name of the " War 

of the Roses," desolated England for more than thirty 

years, and caused the blood of eighty of her princes 

and of thousands of her people to flow 

" in deadly hate the one against the other." 



4 Act ii. Scene 2. Probably Shakspeare borrowed this idea 
from the play of " Sir John Oldcastle," wherein are introduced 
the identical characters, Cambridge, Scroope, and Grey, and a 
" Monsieur de Chartres, agent for the French." 



140 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

The Duke of York was first prince of the blood, 
and was possessed of immense wealth and power by 
his family connections. He inherited the vast for- 
tunes of the houses of York, Cambridge, Clarence, 
Ulster, Marche, and Mortimer, whose sole male re- 
presentative he had become ; and had greatly distin- 
guished himself in the government of France, and 
was a man of abilities and valour, of a cautious though 
ambitious character, and therefore the more dangerous 
to the feeble Henry VI. 

" Whose church-like humours fit not for a crown." 

In the " Second Part of King Henry VI." Act ii. 
sc. 2, York is made to give a most accurate statement 
of the family of Edward III., and of his own descent 
and title, 

" Which is infallible to England's crown." 

After naming the Black Prince and William of Hat- 
field, he goes on to state : 

" The third son, Duke of Clarence, from whose line 
I claim the crown, had issue — Philippe, a daughter, 
Who married Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March : 
Edmund had issue — Roger, Earl of March ; 
Roger had issue — Edmund, Anne, and Eleanor. 

Salisbury. This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke 
As I have read, laid claim unto the crown ; 



York. His eldest sister Anne, 

My mother, being heir unto the crown, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 141 

Married Richard, Earl of Cambridge ; who was son 
To Edmund Langley, Edward the Third's fifth son. 
By her I claim the kingdom.'' 5 

In 1452, York showed the first open symptom of 
revolt, and the first battle of Saint Albans gained by 
him in 1455, placed the person of the king in his 
power ; this event caused a brief truce between the 
rival parties, and the duke to be proclaimed Protector. 
But after a short time the contest raged again, and 
the king was a second time taken prisoner at North- 
ampton in 1560, when it was agreed that Henry should 

5 In the play of the " First Part of Sir John Oldcastle," which 
has been ascribed to Shakspeare, Richard Plantagenet, Earl of 
Cambridge, is represented as using nearly the same words in 
alluding to his descent and claim. 

" This Lionel, Duke of Clarence (as I said), 
Third son of Edward (England's king) the third, 
Had issue, Philip, his sole daughter and heir ; 
Which Philip afterward was given in marriage 
To Edmund Mortimer, the Earl of March, 
And by him had a son called Roger Mortimer ; 
Which Roger likewise had of his descent 
Edmund and Roger, Anne and Eleanor, 
Two daughters and two sons ; but of those, three 
Died without issue. Anne that did survive 
My fortune was to marry ; being too, 
By m y grandfather, of King Edward's line : 
So of his sir-name, I am called, you know, 
Richard Plantagenet: my father was 
Edward the Duke of York, and son and heir 
To Edmund Langley, Edward the Third's fifth son." 

Act iii. sc. 1. 



142 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

retain his crown during the remainder of his life, and 
that the Duke of York should be acknowledged his 
heir: 

" York. Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs, 
And thou shalt reign in quiet, while thou liv'st. 

K. Hen. I am content: Eichard Piantagenet, 
Enjoy the kingdom after my decease." 

3 Henry VI. Act i. sc. 1. 

By this compact, Henry, Prince of Wales, 6 was over- 
looked ; but his mother, the high-spirited Margaret of 
Anjou, determining not to yield up her son's interest 
so easily, collected a large army, and met the Duke 
of York at Wakefield, where he was slain, 1460, and 
his forces defeated. 

The contention between the rival houses is well 
described by the great poet in his dramatic chronicle 
of the " Third Part of King Henry VI.," and making 
some allowance for stage effect, the facts are closely 
adhered to. The taunts of Margaret and the indig- 
nity of the paper crown, which in the play are made 
to take place before the eyes of the Duke of York, 
were in reality committed on his dead body, as he fell 
fighting valiantly in the battle, when his head being 
cut off, it was placed over one of the gates of York 
city : 



6 Fabyan and Holinshed state that it was the general opinion 
of " the common people" that the Prince of Wales was not the 
son of Henry VI, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 143 

" Off with his head, and set it on York gates ; 
So York may overlook the town of York." 

Act i. sc. 4. 

The Duke of York married Cicely, (the " Duchess 
of York" in "King Richard III.") daughter of Ralph 
Nevill, 7 the powerful Earl of Westmoreland, by 
whom he had a numerous family ; Henry, John, Wil- 
liam, Thomas, and Ursula died young; Edward,, 
the eldest surviving son, became King of England ; 
Edmund, Earl of Rutland, a youth of seventeen, 
barbarously slain after the battle of Wakefield, although 
Shakspeare places his death, in the play, before that 
of his father ; George, the ill-fated Duke of Clarence ; 8 

7 The arms of the great family of Nevill are, " Gules, a saltier 
argent." The great house of Nevill was descended from Gilbert 
de Nevill, admiral of the fleet of William the Conqueror, and 
likewise from Ethelred II., King of England, whose daughter 
Elfgina married Uthred, Earl of Northumberland, and their great 
grandson, Robert, Lord of Raby, married Isabel, daughter and 
heir of Geffrey, Lord Nevill, grandson of the admiral, when the 
latter name was assumed by their posterity. 

8 George, Duke of Clarence, by his wife Isabel, second daugh- 
ter of the Earl of Warwick, left a son, Edward, Earl of Warwick, 
who was beheaded in 1499, and died without issue ; and a 
daughter, and at length sole heir, Margaret, the famous Countess 
of Salisbury, who married Sir Richard Pole, and their eldest 
son Henry Pole was created Lord Montagu ; he married Jane, 
daughter of George Nevill, Lord Abergavenny, and their daugh- 
ter and co-heir, Katherine, married Francis Hastings, second 
Earl of Huntingdon, and from them are descended the present 
Marquis of Hastings, and the Earl of Huntingdon. 

L 



144 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

and Richard, " that valiant crook-back prodigy," Duke 
of Gloucester, and afterwards King of England : the 
surviving daughters were, 1. Anne, who first married 
Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, 9 Lord Admiral, and 
secondly, Sir Thomas Saint Leger, by whom she had 
Anne, mother of Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland ; 10 
2. Elizabeth, who married John de la Pole, Duke of 
Suffolk, whose son John, Earl of Lincoln, was intended 
by his uncle Richard III., to be declared heir to the 
throne in case he died without issue; 3. Margaret, 
who became the second wife of Charles, Duke of 
Burgundy; she was famous for her support of the 
pretender, Perkin Warbeck, whose cause she may be 
presumed to have espoused out of her hatred to the 
House of Lancaster, which she never strove to con- 
ceal. 



9 The historian Comines says, " I myself saw the Duke of 
Exeter, the King of England's brother-in-law, walking barefoot 
after the Duke of Burgundy's train, and earning his bread by 
begging from door to door." Vol. iii. chap. 4. 

10 Lineal ancestor of the present Duke of Rutland ; he was 
beheaded at Exeter, by order of his tyrannical brother-in-law, 
Richard III. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 145 



CHAPTER XII. 

" Old John of Gaunt ! time -honour 'd Lancaster." 

The Descent of Edward IV. and Henry VII. 
from John of Gaunt. 

JOHN of Gaunt, 1 or Ghent, his birth-place, Earl of 
Richmond, was the fourth son of Edward III., 
one of the " seven phials of his sacred blood," and 
marrying his kinswoman Blanche, 1359, daughter and 
heir of Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, great 
grandson of Henry III., assumed that title in right of 
his wife, according to Dugdale, although other writers 
state that it was conferred upon him by his father. 
He was besides, Earl of Leicester, Lincoln, and 
Derby, according to some authorities. By his wife 
Blanche he was father of two sons, John and Edward 
who died young, and of Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of 
Hereford, afterwards king as Henry IV., whose de- 
scendants have been considered in a former chapter, 



1 John of Gaunt bore, " Quarterly, France and England, a 
label of three points azure, each charged with as many fleur-de- 
lys or," which were the arms of his first wife's father. 



146 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

and to this first marriage some writers ascribe his two 
daughters, Philippa, married to John, King of Portugal, 
and Elizabeth, who became the wife of her kinsman 
John Holland (son of Joan the Fair Maid of Kent), 
Duke of Exeter. The duchess Blanche died in 1369, 
and John of Gaunt married secondly, Constance, 
eldest daughter and co-heir of Peter the Cruel, King 
of Castile and Leon, by Maria di Padilea, and in her 
right he claimed the succession to that throne, but in 
the end obtained nothing but the empty title of king, 
which he afterwards resigned for a large sum of money. 
He had one daughter by this marriage, Catherine, who 
married her cousin Henry III., King of Castile, and 
from them descended the Emperor Charles V., Ferdi- 
nand I., and the reigning House of Austria. 

The Duke of Lancaster 2 in 1396 married thirdly, 
Catherine Swynford, widow of Sir Otes Swynford, 



2 John of Gaunt died in 1399, in the last year of his nephew 
Richard II., being fifty-nine years old, although called by the 
poet " aged Gaunt." In the early scenes of the play of" Richard 
II." Gaunt takes a prominent part ; and he is made by the 
poet to give that splendid description of England beginning 
with 

" This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle." 

Richard's injustice towards the son of Gaunt, the banished 
Hereford, has been alluded to in a former chapter. The protec- 
tion afforded by John of Gaunt to the great reformer Wiclif 
must always redound to his honour, especially as his countenance 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 147 

and " eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir Payn Roet" 
(Glover), a knight of Hainault and Guienne, king at 
arms. This alliance gave great offence to his proud 
brothers the Dukes of York and Gloucester, as Cathe- 
rine, who was governess to John of Gaunt's daughters, 
had borne him several children before their marriage, 
who were however legitimated by act of parliament in 
1397. These children were, John Beaufort, created 
by Richard II. Earl of Somerset, and Marquis of 
Dorset ; Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, " that 
haughty prelate," better known in history and Shak- 
speare as Cardinal Beaufort; and Thomas Beaufort, 
Earl of Dorset, and Duke of Exeter ; and one daugh- 
ter, Joan Beaufort, 3 who married Ralph Nevill, first 
Earl of Westmoreland, an important personage in 
Shakspeare's " Henry IV." parts 1 and 2, and intro- 
duced also in " Henry V." and in part 3 of " Henry 



of " the Lollards" drew upon him at one time the hatred of the 
populace. Equally to his praise is the patronage he bestowed 
upon Geoffrey Chaucer, " our laureat poet" (Glover), who mar- 
ried Philippa Roet, sister of the duke's third wife, Catherine 
Swynford. The arms of Sir Payn Roet were, " Gules, three 
Catherine wheels or." 

3 The following inscription was placed on the tomb of Joan, 
Countess of Westmoreland, who died 1440 and was buried in 
the cathedral church of Lincoln by her mother Catherine Swyn- 
ford ; (Glover add Leland). 

" Filia Lancashire Ducis, inclita spousa Johanna 
Westmerland pritni subjacet hie Comitis." 



148 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

VI.," whose thirteenth child, Cicely, married Richard 
Plantagenet, Duke of York, by whom she was mother 
of Edward IV. 

As Henry VII. founded his pretensions to the 
English throne in virtue of his descent from John of 
Gaunt through the Beaufort male branch, we will 
continue the family of the Duke of Lancaster. 4 The 
eldest son of Catherine Swynford, John Beaufort, 
Earl of Somerset, who held many distinguished offices, 
married Margaret Holland, daughter of Thomas, 
Earl of Kent, 5 (son of Joan the Fair Maid of Kent), 
by Alice Fitz-alan, daughter of Richard, Earl 
of Arundel, whose wife was Eleanor, daughter of 
Henry Plantagenet, grandson of Henry III. The 
children of John Beaufort who died in 1410 were, 
Henry and Thomas, who died without issue ; John ; 
Edmund, " regent o'er the French ;" (he is the " proud 
Duke of Somerset" who figures in the " second part 
of King Henry VI." and his son Henry is the " Duke 



4 In the original patent of legitimation, and in the copy entered 
on the rolls of parliament, there was no reservation of the royal 
dignity, which exception first occurs in the exemplification by 
Henry IV. in 1407. 

5 Thomas Holland bore for arms, " Azure, seme de Jys, a lion 
rampant gardant or." The arms of Richard Fitz-alan were, 
" Gules, a lion rampant or." John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, 
bore " Quarterly, France and England, a border compone, argent 
and azure." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 149 

of Somerset" in the succeeding part; 6 ) Joanna, who 
married James I., King of Scotland; and Mar- 
garet who became the wife of Thomas Courtney, 
Earl of Devonshire. 

John Beaufort, third son of John, Earl of Somer- 
set, was created first Duke of Somerset in 1443 ; he 
died the year following ; he is the " Duke of Somer- 
set" in the " First Part of King Henry VI.," and had 
distinguished himself at the siege of Harfleur, 1415, 
and at the battle of Beauge, 1421, where he was taken 
prisoner : he married Margaret (widow of Sir 
Oliver St. John, who by her was ancestor of the pre- 
sent noble houses of Bolingbroke and St. John) daugh- 
ter and at length heir of Sir John Beauchamp of 
Bletso, 7 the issue of which marriage was an only child, 

6 Henry, Duke of Somerset, ancestor of the present ducal 
House of Beaufort, was executed in 1463, although in the play 
his death is made to take place after the battle of Tewkesbury, 
in 1471. 

"For Somerset, off with his guilty head." 

His father fell in the first battle of St. Alban's, 1455, and his 
uncle John in 1444, also fighting on the Lancaster party, in 
allusion to whose deaths, Richard Plantagenet is made to say 
of Somerset, 3 Henry VI. Act v. sc. 1. 

" Two of thy name, both dukes of Somerset, 
Have sold their lives unto the House of York ; 
And thou shalt be the third, if this sword hold." 

7 The arms borne by Beauchamp of Bletso were, " Gules, on 
a fess between six martlets or, a mullet sable." The ancestor 



150 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Margaret Beaufort, who espoused Edmund 
Tudor, Earl of Richmond, by whom she was mother 
of Henry, Earl of Richmond, who obtained the 
<?rown on the death of Richard IIL 



of the family was Hugh de Beauchamp, who accompanied the 
the Conqueror to England. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 151 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Of the fourth Edward was his noble song 
Fierce, goodly, valiant, beautiful, and young. 

WALLER. 

The Descent of James I. of England from 
Edward IV. 

1THE preceding chapters have shown how many 
family interests centered in the person of 
Edward fourth of that name, thus by three channels 

" evenly derived 
From his most fam'd of famous ancestors 
Edward the Third." Hen. V. Act ii. sc. 4. 

And it is quite certain that his title to the throne was 
incontestable by the right of his grandmother Anne 
Mortimer ; " for in a parliament assembled Nov. 
4th, 1461, the title of Edward to the crown was 
recognised, by hereditary descent, through the family 
of Mortimer." 1 On his accession in 1461, Edward 
was only in his nineteenth year, and as Henry VI. 

1 Hume. 



152 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

was yet alive, and his intrepid queen in arms, the 
young- king had to maintain his throne against the 
Lancaster party. Unfortunately, he offended the Earl 
of Warwick, who sided against him, as did also George, 
Duke of Clarence, who had married Warwick's daugh- 
ter. In the battle of Nottingham, Henry the Sixth's 
party was victorious, but in another battle, the second 
fought at Saint Alban's, the fortunes of Edward pre- 
vailed, and the powerful Warwick was slain, 1471. 
In the subsequent battle of Tewkesbury, in which 
Edward was again victorious, Queen Margaret 2 and 
her son fell into his hands, when the young prince 
was barbarously murdered, and soon after Henry VI. 
perished in his prison, being killed, according to the 
popular belief, by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 3 and 
thus no legitimate claimant of the House of Lancaster 



2 Queen Margaret, after the death of her husband and son, 
was sent back to France, where she died, in 1482, the French 
King Lewis, having paid a ransom of 50,000 crowns for her. 

" Clar. What will your grace have done with Margaret ? 
Reignier, her father, to the King of France 
Hath pawn'd the Sicils and Jerusalem, 
And hither have they sent it for her ransome. 

K. Edw. Away with her, and waft her hence to France." 
3 K. Henry VI. Act v. sc. 7. 

3 " K. Edw. Where's Richard gone ? 

Clar. To London, all in post ; and, as I guess, 
To make a bloody supper in the Tower." 

o K. Henry VI. Act v. sc. 5. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 153 

remained to oppose Edward's title. This king had 
engaged Warwick to negotiate a marriage for him 
with the Lady Bona of Savoy, sister of the queen of 
Louis XL of France, and it was the breaking off of this 
match that converted the earl from a friend into a 
bitter enemy : 

" I came from Edward as ambassador, 
But I return his sworn and mortal foe ; 



I was the chief that rais'd him to the crown 
And I'll be chief to bring him down again." 

3 Part Hen. VI. Act iii. sc. 3. 

Edward had seen and was struck with the beauty of 
the Lady Elizabeth Gray, widow of Sir John Gray 
of Groby, who fell in the second battle of Saint Alban's, 
and daughter of Sir Richard Widvill, Lord Rivers, 
of an ancient Northamptonshire family, by the widow 
of John, Duke of Bedford, Jacqueline or Jacquetta of 
Luxemburg, daughter of Peter, Earl of Saint Pol, 
by Margaret, daughter of Francis de Baux, Duke 
of Andree ; the paternal grandfather of Jacqueline was 
Guy, Earl of Luxemburg, 4 who married Susan, 



4 Guy of Luxemburg was descended from Walram, whose 
son was Walram, Count of Luxemburg, whose wife was Maud, 
daughter and heiress of Guy de Chatillon, Earl of Saint Pol, by 
Mary, second daughter of John de Dreux, Duke of Bretagne and 
Earl of Richmond, and Beatrice, the second daughter of King- 
Henry III The son of Count Walram and Maud was Lewis, 



154 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

daughter of the Earl of Ursins. The fickle Edward, 
unmindful of his engagement with the Lady Bona, 
espoused Elizabeth, and loaded her family with honours. 
Her father, w T ho was created Earl of Rivers by Edward 
IV., had distinguished himself in the preceding reigns ; 
in the seventh year of Henry IV. he was sheriff of the 
county of Northampton, and governor of Northampton 
Castle ; in the eighth of Henry V., being one of the 
esquires of the king's body, he was constituted senes- 
chal of Normandy ; in the third of Henry VI. he was 



Earl of Saint Pol, who married Joan, daughter of Robert de Barr 
(Speed says Henry de Barr), whose wife was Mary de Coucy, 
daughter of Ingelram de Coucy, by Isabel, daughter of Edward 
III. To this noble and royal pedigree Queen Elizabeth is made 
to allude in 3 Henry VI. Act iv. sc. 1. 

" My lords, before it pleas'd his majesty 
To raise my state to title of a queen, 
Do me but right, and you must all confess 
That I was not ignoble of descent." 
In the play of Richard III, Gloster is made to insinuate that 
his brother's wife was of obscure fortunes. 

"Since every Jack became a gentleman, 
There's many a gentle person made a Jack." 



" great promotions 
Are daily given, to ennoble those 
That scarce, some two days since, were worth a noble." 

Act i. sc. 3. 
"And the queen's kindred are made gentlefolks." 

Act i. sc. 2. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 155 

made constable of the Tower of London, and the next 
year was created Knight of the Garter ; in the fifth of 
Henry VI. he was lieutenant of Calais, and served in 
the wars in France and Normandy, and for his good 
services was created, twenty-sixth Henry VI., Baron 
Rivers of Grafton. Edward IV. made him treasurer 
of the Exchequer, and constable of England for life. 
He was seized at his own house at Grafton, by the 
Lancastrian party under Robert of Riddisdale, 5 1469, 
and, with his son John Widvill, beheaded at North- 
ampton. Lord Rivers is one of the dramatis persona? 
in the First Part of King Henry VI., where he is 
styled "Woodville, lieutenant of the Tower." His 
eldest son, Anthony Widvill, 6 the " Rivers" of Shak- 
speare, in the " Third Part of Henry VI." and " Richard 
III.," is mentioned by Hume as "the most accom- 
plished nobleman in England, who, having united an 
uncommon taste for literature to great abilities in 
business, and valour in the field, was entitled by his 
talents, still more than by nearness of blood, to direct 

5 Speed. Collins calls him Robin of Ridslade, and Sir James 
Mackintosh styles him " a hero among the moss-troopers of the 
borders." The Earl of Rivers had to pay a fine of ^.1000 to 
the king for marrying the Duchess of Bedford without a license. 

6 Gloster is made to allude to him scornfully, as 

" that good man of worship, 
Antony Woodeville, her brother there." 
Whereas, as shown, he had as gentle blood in his veins as 



156 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the education of the young monarch," (his nephew 

Edward V.) He first introduced the art of printing 

into this country by recommending Caxton to the 

patronage of Edward IV. This excellent noble was 

beheaded in 1483, by order of the ambitious Duke of 

Gloucester : 

"To-day shalt thou behold a subject die 
For truth, for duty, and for loyalty." 

Rich. III. Act iii. sc 3. 

Heylin conjectures that Sir Richard Widvill came 
through a female branch from the ancient family of 
Ryvers, de Redvers, or de Ripariis, which flourished 
in the reign of William Rufus, eight of whom were 
successively Earls of Devon, and Lords of the Isle of 
Wight ; the latter title was bestowed by Edward IV. 
upon his father-in-law, and the earldom of Devon 
came to the ancient family of Courteney, by an alliance 
with an heiress of the Redvers family. 



" mis-shapen Dick" himself, and was one of the most celebrated 
and gallant persons of the day. Among his ancestors, the Counts 
de Dreux were of the blood royal of France, through Robert, 
younger son of Lewis VI., and the Earls of Saint Pol were dis- 
tinguished in the front rank of the crusaders. The arms of John 
de Dreux, who was descended from the ancient dukes of Britany, 
through his great grandmother the celebrated Constance (by 
her third husband Guy of Thouars), were " Chequy, or and 
azure, a canton ermine, within a bordure gules." The arms of 
Guy, Count of St. Pol, were, " Gules, three pales vaire, on a 
chief or, a label of five points azure." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



157 



King Edward, by his marriage with Elizabeth Wid- 
vill, had three sons and seven daughters ; the former 
were, 1. Edward, born 1470, who succeeded his father 
as king; 2. Richard, Duke of York, murdered in 
1483 with his brother ; he married in 1477, Ann, 
daughter and heir of Thomas Mowbray, Duke of 
Norfolk ; 3. GeOrge, who died young : the daughters 
were, 1. Elizabeth, the eldest, and heiress to the 
crown at the death of her brothers ; 2. Cicely, who 
died without issue, married John, Lord Welles; 7 3. 
Ann, first affianced to Philip, son of Maximilian the 
emperor, married Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, 
by whom she had two sons who died without issue ; 
4. Catherine, married to William Courtney, Earl of 
Devon, by whom she had Henry, afterwards Marquis 
of Exeter; 5, 6, 7, Bridget, Mary, and Margaret, 
died all unmarried. 

Edward died April 9th, 1483, 8 in the forty-second 

7 A descendant of that John de Welles whose famous passage 
of arms with Sir David Lyndsay, upon London Bridge in 1390, 
is recorded by many English and Scottish writers. 
" Thai ilk forsayd lordis tway, 
The Lyndyssay and the Wellis thay 
On horse ane agane ither ran. 



The Lyndyssay thare wyth manful fors 
Strak qwyte the Wellis fra his hors." 

ANDREW OF WYNTON. 

8 Edward IV. changed his supporters three times; he bare 



158 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

year of his age and twenty -third of his reign ; " a 
prince more splendid and showy, than either prudent 
or virtuous ; brave, though cruel ; addicted to pleasure, 
though capable of activity in great emergencies ; and 
less fitted to prevent ills by wise precautions, than to 
remedy them after they took place, by his vigour and 
enterprise." 9 Fuller says of Edward's queen, who 
was the first English subject raised to the throne, 10 
" she got more greatness than joy, height than happi- 
ness by her marriage ; for, she lived to see the death 
of her husband, murder of her two sons, and restraint 
of herself and rest of her children." 11 Shakspeare 
places in her mouth lines which corroborate this 
opinion : 



first, '* Dexter, a bull sable, crowned and hoofed or," (this was 
the ensign of the house of Clare,) sinister, a lion gardant argent 
(which belonged to the Earls of March) : these arms are found in 
Trinity Church, Chester. Edward used secondly, M Two lions 
gardant argent," as over the Library Gate of Cambridge Univer- 
sity. Thirdly, Edward used as supporters, " Dexter, a lion 
gardant argent; sinister, a hart argent," (the device of Joan of 
Kent) as in Windsor Chapel. Edmonson's Heraldry, and 
Nisbet. 

9 Hume. 

10 The first wives of King John and Henry IV. did not come 
to be queen9. 

11 Queen Elizabeth, in the reign of her son-in law, was de- 
prived of her estate, and confined for life to tbe monastery of 
Bermondsey. Speed. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 159 

"I had rather be a country servant-maid, 
Than a great queen with this condition — 
To be so baited, scorn'd and stormed at, 
Small joy have I in being England's queen." 

Richard III. Act i. sc. 3. 

Edward's consort died in 1492, in the reign of 
Henry VII., who, as Lingard states, being desirous 
to cultivate the friendship of James III. King of 
Scots, then the widower of Margaret of Denmark, 
proposed that he should espouse Elizabeth, dowager 
of Edward IV., and that his two sons should marry 
two of her daughters ; this negotiation was broken off 
by the death of James. 

The eldest daughter of Edward IV., Elizabeth of 
York, became her father's heir, when her brothers, 
Edward V. and the Duke of York, were 

" by their uncle cozen 'd 
Of comfort, kingdom, kindred, freedom, life ;" 

and the usurping Richard sought the hand of his 
niece, to give some title to the crown which he had 
obtained by such guilty means. 12 But the Earl of 
Richmond, the hope of the Lancaster party, was also 
a candidate for the hand of Elizabeth of York : 



12 "Now, for I know the Bretagne Richmond aims 
At young Elizabeth, my brother's daughter, 
And, by that knot, looks proudly on the crown, 
To her go I, a jolly thriving wooer." 

Richard III. Act iv. sc. 3. 

M 



160 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

" the queen hath heartily consented 
He shall espouse Elizabeth her daughter:" 13 

and, in virtue of his descent from John of Gaunt, 
setting up a pretension to the throne, Richard was 
forced to do battle with his rival, on the field of 
Bosworth, where the intrepid tyrant, after enacting 

" more wonders than a man, 
Daring an opposite to every danger ; 
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death ;" 

fell upon a heap of bodies of his own slaying, 14 and 
the Earl of Richmond was hailed upon the field, king 
as Henry VII., and a coronet was placed upon his 
head which had been plucked 

"From the dead temples of the bloody wretch." 

This decisive battle w T as fought August 22nd, 1485, 
and put an end to the dynasties of York and Lancaster, 
the new king being called the first of the Line of 
Tudor, which ended in Queen Elizabeth. 

The position of Henry VII. on the throne was 
unlike that of any preceding sovereign, or it can only 
be compared to that of William the Conqueror, or of 

13 The historian Speed states that the proposal of a marriage 
between Henry of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York was " first 
set on by Bishop Morton," the " Bishop of Ely" in Shakspeare's 
" Richard III." He was afterwards advanced by Henry VII. to 
be archbishop of Canterbury, and chancellor of England. 

14 " He obtained more honour in this his two houres fight, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 161 

Henry IV. The best foundation of his title would be 
by his marrying the Princess Elizabeth of York, the 
avowed object of his landing in England, but this 
marriage did not take place till the year after he was 
proclaimed king. Again, if he founded his title upon 
his descent from the house of Edward III., not only 
was the title of Elizabeth of York better, but even if 
Henry's pretensions were legitimate as to descent 
from the House of Lancaster, his mother, the Countess 
of Richmond, being alive, had a prior claim. 15 The 
nation, however, hoping that the promised union of 
Henry with the daughter of Edward IV., 

" The true succeeders of each royal house," 

would put an end to the desolating wars which had 
arisen out of the rival claims of the two factions, did 
not scrutinize very closely the plea by which Henry 
claimed the kingdom. 

Henry was crowned Oct. 30th, 1485, whilst his 
marriage with the princess was not solemnized until 
the 18th of January in the following year, " with a 
greater appearance of universal joy than (attended) 



than he had gained hy all the actions of his whole life."— Speed. 
Richard III., hy his queen Anne, left a son, Edward, born 1473, 
created by his father Prince of Wales in 1483 ; he died before 
him. 

15 " He rested on the title of Lancaster in the main, usiug the 
marriage and victory as supporters." bacon. 



162 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

either his first entry or his coronation. Henry remarked 
with much displeasure this general favour borne to 
the House of York. The suspicions which arose from 
it not only disturbed his tranquillity during his whole 
reign, but bred disgust towards his consort herself, 
and poisoned all his domestic enjoyments. Though 
virtuous, amiable, and obsequious to the last degree, 
she never met with a proper return of affection or even 
of complaisance from her husband."' 6 Queen Eliza- 
beth was not crowned until Nov. 25th, 1487. 

The children of this marriage were, 1. Arthur 
(named after the British hero), Prince of Wales, who 
married Catherine (1501) fourth daughter of Ferdi- 
nand, King of Arragon; the prince died in 1502 ; 17 
2. Henry, afterwards king, who was obliged by his 
father to marry Arthur's widow for the sake of the 
rich dowry she brought ; 3. Edmund, who died young : 
the daughters were, 1. the Princess Margaret Tudor, 
who married James IV., King of Scots, by whom she 
was great grandmother of James I. of England; 2. 
the Princess Mary Tudor, married first to Louis XII., 



16 Hume, who quotes Lord Bacon. 

17 It is said by an old writer that the death of Prince Arthur 
was broken to Henry VII. by his Confessor quoting to him the 
words of Job, " Si bona de manu Dei suscipimus, mala autem 
quare non sustineamusT' "And soe showed his grace that his 
dearest son was departed to God." foxe. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 163 

King of France, and secondly to Charles Brandon, 
Duke of Suffolk, " that martial and pompous gentle- 
man" (Speed), by whom she was mother of three 
daughters, 1. Frances Brandon, 18 married to Henry 
Grey, Marquess of Dorset : their daughter was the 
accomplished and amiable Lady Jane Grey, 19 who, 
yielding to the solicitations of the ambitious Northum- 
berland, father of her husband, Lord Guilford Dud- 
ley, 20 suffered herself to be proclaimed queen on the 
death of Edward VI., and was beheaded in the reign 
of Mary, in 1554. 21 A second daughter of Frances 
Brandon was Catherine Grey, who married privately 
in 1559, Sir Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford (son 
of Edward Seymour the Protector, brother of Henry 



18 By his will Henry VIII. left the succession of the crown 
to Frances Brandon and her heirs in default of his own children. 
She died in 1563. 

19 The quaint Fuller says of Lady Jane Grey, "No lady 
which led so many pious, lived so few pleasant, dayes ; whose 
soul never out of the non-age of her afflictions, till death made 
her of full years to inherit happiness ; so severe her education." 

20 Of Lord Dudley, Fuller says, " He was a goodly, and (for 
aught I find to the contrary) a godly gentleman, whose worst 
fault was, that he was son to an ambitious father." 

21 " The history of tyranny affords no example of a female of 
seventeen, by the command of a female, and a relation, put to 
death for acquiescence in the injunction of a father, sanctioned 
by the concurrence of all that the kingdom could boast of what 
was illustrious in nobility, or grave in law, or venerable in 
religion." sir james mackintosh. 



164 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the Eighth's third queen), and from them is descended 
the present ducal house of Buckingham. 22 2. Eleanor 
Brandon, second daughter of Mary Tudor and Charles 
Brandon, married Henry Clifford, second Earl of Cum- 
berland ; their only surviving child, Margaret, married 
Henry Stanley, fourth Earl of Derby, 23 whose direct 
male line became extinct in 1736 ; 3. Mary, third 
daughter of Mary Tudor, was married to Martin Keys, 
but left no issue. 24 She is not mentioned at all by some 
writers. Fuller says of Henry the Seventh's queen, 
" Besides her dutifulness to her husband and fruitful- 
ness in her children, little can be extracted of her 
personal character; she died in 1503, in her thirty- 
eighth birthday." 25 

The Princess Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter 

22 The present noble houses of Somerset and Hertford are 
descended from Edward Seymour, the Lord Protector, by a son 
of his first mai'riage. 

23 Their granddaughter, Lady Frances Stanley, married John 
Egerton, first Earl of Bridgewater, from whom the late earl was 
descended, and from Elizabeth, another grandchild, who married 
Henry, fifth Earl of Huntingdon, the present marquis of Hast- 
ings is derived. 

24 Queen Elizabeth died in 1503, Feb. 11, in child-bed of a 
daughter, Katherine. — Fuller. The historian Speed mentions 
another daughter, Elizabeth, born 1492, who died 1495. 

25 Henry VII. used for supporters, "on the dexter side, a 
dragon gules," which was the ensign of his ancestor Cadwallader, 
and "on the sinister side, a greyhound argent, collared gules" 
for his wife, Elizabeth of York, edmondson and nisbet. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 165 

of Henry of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York, was 
married in 1503, according to Sandford, but a year 
later according to Sir Walter Scott, with great splen- 
dour to James IV., by whom she was mother of 
James V., whose daughter was Mary, the celebrated 
Queen of Scots, mother of James VI., who on the 
death of his cousin, Queen Elizabeth, ascended the 
throne of England under the title of James I. of 
Great Britain, in virtue of his descent in direct line 
from Henry VII., and the sceptre passed from the 
Tudor to the Stuart dynasty ; James I. thus being 
descended from the Saxon blood royal as well as from 
Kenneth Mac Alpine. 26 After the death of her gal- 
lant husband at Flodden, Queen Margaret married 
Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus, and 
their daughter Margaret espousing Matthew 
Stuart, Earl of Lenox, became mother of Henry, 
Lord Darnley, who marrying his cousin Mary, Queen 
of Scots, was father of James VI., thus the great 
grandson of Margaret Tudor both by the father's 
and mother's side. 

As the Tudor dynasty forms a most important 
feature in the history of England, the next chapter 
will be devoted to the pedigree of that family. 

26 James I. of England was eighteenth in lineal descent from 
the son of Edmund Ironside, hy the two lines of the English and 
Scottish monarchs, of whom Margaret, daughter of Edward the 
Outlaw, was the common mother. 



166 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Henry VII. deserves a brief notice for his patronage 
of architecture, of which the chapel-tomb at West- 
minster, known by his name, is one of the most gor- 
geous specimens of a richly elaborate style, and well 
deserved the admiration of the enthusiastic John 
Carter, who remarked that " it should have a glass 
case over it." It is interesting to notice that the 
architect of this and other edifices of Henry VII., 
Sir Reginald Bray, took an active part in negotiating 
the marriage between Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of 
York. He was in the service of Henry's mother, 
the Countess of Richmond, who employed him as her 
chief agent to gain adherents among the English 
gentry to forward her son's views upon the crown. 27 
Fuller states that the cost of Henry the Seventh's 
Chapel, and of his ship, called " the Great Harry," 
was the same amount each, viz. fourteen thousand 
pounds sterling. 



27 " The Lady Margaret Countesse of Richmond, brought to a 
good hope of the preferment of her Sonne, made Reinold Bray 
chiefe solicitor of this conspiracy, giving him in charge, secretly 
to inveagle such persons of nobilitie to join with her, and take 
her part, as he knew to be faithfull." 

Speed, Book IX., chap. xix. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 167 



CHAPTER XIV. 

11 For Rhodorick, whose surname shall be Great, 
Shall of himself a brave ensample shew, 
That Saxon kings his friendship shall intreat; 
And Howell Dba shall goodly well indew 
The salvage minds with skill of just and trew." 

Faerie Queen, Book 111. Canto iii. ver. 44. 

The Pedigree of the House of Tudor, from 
Cadwallader to Henry VII. 

CAMDEN states that "Owen Tudor lineally 
deduced his pedigree from Cadwallader, as was 
proved by a commission directed to GrifFm ap Llewel- 
lyn, Gitten Owen, John King, and other learned men, 
both English and Welch, in the seventh year of King 
Henry VII." 

Most modern historians, in speaking of the father 
and grandfather of Henry VII., generally dismiss the 
question of their origin by briefly asserting that " the 
Tudor family claimed to be descended from the ancient 
British kings ;" probably the peculiarity of Welch 
genealogy, 1 after all the clearest in method, deterred 

1 It is too much the custom to sneer at a Welch pedigree, and 



168 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

them from entering on the subject fully ; or like the 
quaint Fuller, perhaps, they shrank from the task, for 
as he says of the Welch princes, " they are so ancient 
I know not where to begin, and so many I know not 
where to end." 2 By the aid, however, of Gerald 
Barry, Lloyd, Powell, Speed, Camden, Glover, Heylin, 
and Playfair, and undismayed by the sneers of Banks, 3 
a continuous pedigree can be made out satisfactorily, 
which contains many distinguished names. 

The last prince who bore the title of King of Britain 

to regard it, without reflection, as a mere jargon of names, 
whilst in reality the construction of the genealogy is not only 
simple but extremely clear. The connecting ap, or ab as it is 
often found, speaks for itself and saves much repetition, and as 
the son seldom bore the same Christian name with the father, 
there is not that confusion often found in English and Scottish 
pedigrees, from the recurrence of the same Christian name. 
Thus in nine generations of the Bruce family, we find eight per- 
sons bearing the name of Robert, and many distinguished houses, 
extinct or flourishing might be mentioned as strongly attached 
to one favourite name. The Welch ap answers to the Norman 
Jitz, oxfils, to the Scotch Vich, and the Irish Mac. 

2 The Compiler cannot resist the inclination to introduce from 
this admirable author an apposite quotation. In speaking of the 
manufactures of Wales, under the article Cheese he says, "Once 
one merrily (without offence I hope) thus derived the pedigree 
thereof : 

Adam's nawn cusson was her by her birth, 

Ap Curds, ap Milk, ap Cow, ap Grass, ap Earth." 

3 Banks speaks of Henry VII. as being derived " from the 
quondam royal race of Cadwallader." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 169 

was Cadwallader (son of King Cadwallon 4 ), 
whose reign lasted only from 685 to his death in 689, 
when his son, said to be by his wife, a daughter of 
Penda, King of Mercia, Idwallo, or Edwal Ywrch, 
bore the lesser title of Prince of Britain ; he is often 
called Edwal the Roe ; he died 720 ; he was father 
of Roderic, called Molwynoc, who is said by Powell 
to have been "the most considerable of the British 
princes," and to have fought many battles with various 
success against Ethelheard, King of Wessex (whom 
he defeated in 728), and the King of Mercia, who 
were his cotemporaries : he died about 755, and was 
succeeded as Prince of Wales by his eldest son Con an, 
surnamed Tindaethwy, who was also for more than 
half a century the most powerful among the Welch 
princes: he dying in 817, left his possessions to his 
daughter and heiress Esylt, who conveyed her title 
to her husband, the famous Mervyn Vrych, " King 
of the Isles," (said to be descended in a direct line 
from Brutus the Trojan) : their son was the celebrated 
Rodri Mawr, or Roderic the Great, who succeeded 
on the death of his father in 843, slain in battle against 



4 King Cadwallon fought many great battles against the 
Anglo-Saxons, in most of which he was victorious ; he was 
killed in 634. 

" Fourteen great battles he fought 

For Britain, the most beautiful, 

And sixty skirmishes." llywarch hen. 



170 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Burrhed, King of Mercia. Roderic inherited North 
Wales from his mother, Powis from his father, and 
obtained the government of South Wales by his 
marriage with Angharad, heiress of that country, 
daughter of King Meyric, and thus became the para- 
mount prince of all Wales. The arms given to Kodri 
Mawr by Heylin are, " Gules, a chevron between three 
roses argent." 

Roderic died in 877, having divided his dominions 
among his three sons; 1. Anarawd, the eldest, had 
North Wales, in which he was succeeded by his son 
Edwal Voel ; 2. Cadell, the second son, had for his 
share, South Wales ; 3. Mervyn, the youngest, received 
Powis as his portion. Cadell married Rhinger, 
daughter of Tudyr Ivwr, and dying in 907, was suc- 
ceeded by his son Howel Dha, or the Good, who 
on the death of his cousin, Edwal Voel, in 939 accord- 
ing to Henry, obtained North Wales, and assumed 
the style of King of all Wales. 

" For, what Mulmutian laws, or Martian, ever were 
More excellent than those which our good Howel here 
Ordain'd to govern Wales? which still with us remain." 

POLY-OLBION, 

This great lawgiver, the Alfred of Wales, died in 
948 ; 5 he married Jana, daughter of the Duke of 



5 " In the year 948 died Howel Dha, the noble King, or Prince 
of Wales, whose death was sore bewailed of all men, for he 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 171 

Cornwall, and left a son Owen, Prince of South 
Wales, married to Eva, granddaughter to Patrick, 
King of Ireland. Owen, who is said to have lived to 
987, had a son, Eneon, who was slain in battle in his 
father's lifetime, 981, leaving a son called Tewdar 
Mawr, or the Great, who succeeded his grandfather 
as Prince of South Wales. We here begin to find 
the family name (no doubt derived from the father- 
in-law of Cadell) which was afterwards to be so dis- 
tinguished as the patronymic of a powerful dynasty 
upon the throne of England. 6 The name is found 
written in a variety of ways, Tyddour (Selden), Theo- 
dore (Fuller and Glover), Teuther (Holinshed), Tew- 
dar, Tydder, Tydur (Camden), Teuder (Speed), 
Twdar, Tudur, and more modernly Tudor. 

The prince Tewdar Mawr was slain in 997, by his 
kinsman Edwal ap Meyric, and left a son, Rhys, 
called Rhys ap Tewdar, also Prince of South Wales, 
distinguished among the Welch rulers, who, besides a 
son, had a daughter Nesta, who married Gerald Fitz- 
walter, (grandson of Otho, an English noble of the 
time of Edward the Confessor), who had the castle of 
Carew with her for a dowry, and by her is ancestor, 



was a prince that loved peace and good order, and that feared 
God." powel, p. 58. 

6 The arms ascribed to Tewdar Mawr, are " Gules, a lion 
rampant within a border ingrailed or, incensed azure." heylin. 



172 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

through his son William's son Odo, of the Carews, 
baronets of Haccombe, and through William's son 
Raymond, of the Marquis of Lansdowne ; Maurice, 
son of Nesta and Gerald, is ancestor of the family of 
Fitz-gerald. 7 

The surviving son of Rhys ap Tewdar was Grif- 
fith, called ap Rhys, whose wife was Gwenlian, or 
Julian, daughter of Griffyd ap Conan, Prince of 
North Wales, son of Jago (James) ap Edwal ap 
Meyric ap Edwal Voel, son of Anarawd, eldest 
son of Roderic the Great. Griffyd ap Rhys, styled 
by Powel "the light, honour, and support of South 
Wales," who died 1137, by this alliance was father 
of three sons, Cadel, Meredith, and Rhys, the latter 
of whom was commonly called the Lord Rhys, 8 " one 
of the bravest, wisest, most liberal, and most celebrated 
of the princes of South Wales ;" he is spoken of with 
great praise by many authors. 9 Camden quotes some 
funeral verses made upon him commencing thus : 



7 Rhys ap Tudor's daughter Nesta had a daughter, Angharad, 
who married William de Barri, by whom she was mother of 
Gerald de Barri, the famous historian generally known as Giral- 
dus Cambrensis. Rhys ap Tudor was slain, with his son Conan, 
in an engagement with Robert Fitzhamon, near Brecknock, 
1090. 

8 In Sir Richard Colt Hoare's edition of Giraldus Cambren- 
sis, a plate is given of a very beautiful effigy of the Lord Rhys, 
in the cathedral church of Saint David. 

9 Some of these writers ascribe to the Lord Rhys the union 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 173 

Nobile Carabrensis cecidit diadema decoris, 
Hoc est Rhesus obiit, Cambria tota gemit. 

Subtrahitur, sed non moritur, quia semper habetur 
Ipsius egregium nomen in orbe novum. 

" Rhys ap Griffith," say the chronicles, " was no 
less remarkable in courage than in the stature and 
lineaments of his body, wherein he exceeded most 
men." 10 The Lord Rhys married "his relation in the 
fourth degree," Gwenlian, daughter of Madoc ap 
Meredith Prince of Powis, son of Bledhyn ap 

CONVYN ap GWERYSTAN ap GwAITHVOED, SOn of 

Mervyn, the third son of Roderic the Great. By 
this alliance therefore, and by that of his father, the 
children of the Lord Rhys were equally descended 
from Roderic the Great by his three sons. The son 
of Rhys was Griffith, called Griffith ap Lord Rhys 
(to distinguish him from his ancestor Griffyd ap Rhys), 
and his grandson Owen was father of Meredith, the 
last prince of South Wales who died in 1267. The 



of the virtues of the most famous Greek and Trojan heroes, with 
the addition of those of some of the scripture worthies. 

10 "The following is the generation of princes of South 
Wales : Rhys son of Gruffydh, Gruffydh son of Rhys, Rhys 
son of Theodor, Theodor son of Eineon, Eineon son of Owen, 
Owen son of Howel Dha, or Howel the Good, Howel son of 
Cadelh, son of Roderic the Great." giraldus cambrensis. 

In fewer words the Lord Rhys would be styled u Rhys ap 
Gruffydh ap Rhys ap Theodor ap Eineon ap Owen ap Howel 
Dha ap Cadelh ap Rodri Mawr." 



174 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Lord Rhys had a daughter, Gwenlian, who married 
Ednyfed Fychan, or Vaughan, 11 the famous general 
of the Welsh, derived by old writers from King Lyr, 
the " Lear, King of Britain," of Shakspeare. They 
had a son called Grono of Trecastel, who by Mor- 
fydh, daughter of Meurye, Lord of Gwent, was father 
of Tudwr of Penwynyd, who died in 1311, leaving 
by Angarad, daughter of Ithel Fychan, a son, called 
Grono ap Tudor, who died 1331 ; his name appears 
in the list of the freeholders who did homage to 
Edward, Prince of Wales, at Chester, 29 Edward I.,' 
as Grono ap Tudor of Anglesea. His son was Sir 
Tudor of Penwynyd, who married Margaret, daugh- 
ter of Thomas ap Llewellyn ap Owen ap Meredith ap 
Griffyd, son of Lord Rhys. Sir Tudor, who died in 
1367, left a son, Meredith, whose wife was Marga- 
ret, daughter of David Vychan, and the issue of this 
marriage was Sir Owen Tudor, who married Queen 

11 M. Thierry states that Ednyfed Fychan, choosing to have 
armorial bearings after the fashion of the barons of England, had 
his shield emblazoned with three Norman heads coupee. It is 
probable that his descendants considered this charge as too 
derisive, as we find the more recent arms of Tudor softened to 
" Gules, a chevron between three helmets argent." Ednyfed 
Vychan was said to be descended from Henwin, Duke of Corn- 
wall, who married King Lear's daughter : 

■' our second daughter, 
Our dearest Regan, wife to Cornwall." 

KING LEAR. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 175 

Catherine, dowager of Henry V. of England, and 
daughter of Charles VI. of France. 1 ' 2 By this 
marriage with a commoner, the queen was considered, 
by both the English and French nations, to have very 
much lowered her dignity, as Owen Tudor, though 
high-born, was very poor ; yet historians find an excuse 
for her on the score of the extraordinary graces of per- 
son with which Nature had endowed him. Speed says, 
" The meanness of his estate was recompensed by the 
delicacy of his person, so absolute in all the lineaments 
of his body, that the only contemplation of them might 
make a queen forget all other circumstances." In the 
annotations subjoined to Drayton's epistle from Owen 
Tudor to Queen Catherine, is the following passage : 
" Owen Tudor being a courtly and active gentleman, 
commanded once to dance before the queen e, in a turn 
(not being able to recover himself), fell into her lap, 
as she sat upon a little stoole, with many of her ladies 
about her." Sir Owen is said by Thierry to have 
been an equerry in the palace of Henry V., who 
granted him great favour, and vouchsafed to call him 
Nostre cher et foyal. Sir Owen Tudor, who fought 
on the side of Henry VI. against the York faction, 



12 Queen Catherine is fifteenth in descent from Hugh Capet. 
Glover calls " Owen Theodore the issue male of Kenan sonne of 
Coel, King of Brittaine, and brother of Helen, mother of Con- 
stantine the Great." 



176 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

was taken prisoner at the battle of Mortimer's Cross, 
in 1461, and beheaded by the orders of the Duke of 
York, afterwards Edward IV. By Queen Catherine, 
Owen Tudor was father of Edmund Tudor of Hat- 
field, created Earl of Richmond, and Jaspar Tudor, 
who in 1452 was created Earl of Pembroke; he 
was a zealous leader of the Lancastrian party, and 
when their cause seemed ruined by the battle of 
Tewkesbury, he fled into Britany with his nephew, 
the young Earl of Richmond, 13 afterwards Henry VII., 
whence he returned with him to witness his triumph 
at Bosworth. Pembroke does not figure among the 
dramatis personse in " Richard III.," but he is alluded 
to in the play as " redoubted Pembroke," and as being 
one of his nephew's chief captains : 

" The Earl of Pembroke keeps his regiment." 

Act v. sc. 3. 

For his services in his cause, Henry VII. created 
him Duke of Bedford, under which title we find 
Jaspar Tudor frequently mentioned during the reign 
of Henry VII., who intrusted him with the command 

13 Shakspeare introduces Henry Tudor in the Third Part of 
Henry VI. (" Henry, Earl of Richmond, a youth,'") under the 
guardianship of his kinsman, Henry Duke of Somerset : 
" K. Hen. My lord of Somerset, what youth is that, 
Of whom you seem to have so tender care 1 

Som, My liege, it is young Henry ; Earl of Richmond/' 

Act iv. sc. 6. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 177 

of the troops to crush the rebellion of the Staffords, 
and afterwards in the more important affair of the 
impostor Simnel. 

The eldest son of Owen Tudor, 14 Edmund of Had- 
ham, created, 1452, Earl of Richmond, with prece- 
dence of all other earls, married Margaret Beau- 
fort, only daughter and heir of John Beaufort, 
Duke of Somerset, grandson of John of Gaunt ; the 
fruit of this marriage was Henry, born 1456, who 
ascended the throne on the death of Richard III. 
Edmund Tudor died in 1456. 15 Margaret, Countess 
of Richmond, born 1441, was a celebrated woman 
in her time, and was a great patroness of learning; 
she founded the Margaret Professorships of Divinity 
at the two universities, and also largely endowed 
the colleges of Christ Church and Saint John at 
Cambridge ; she was likewise the original founder 
of the Free Grammar School at Winborne Minster, 
Dorsetshire, her father and mother being buried in 



14 It appears that Owen had a third son, Owen, who became 
a monk. 

15 Edmund Tudor was buried in Saint David's Cathedral, and 
around his tomb was formerly this inscription : 

" Under this marble stone here enclosed, rest the bones of 
that most noble Lord Edmund Earl of Richmond, father and 
brother to kings, who departed out of this world in the year 
1456, the first day of November; on whose soul Almighty Jesu 
have mercy." Giraldus Camb. Ed. Sir R. C. Hoare. 



178 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



the ancient church there. In her zeal for religion 
she made her famous declaration, " that if the Chris- 
tian princes would agree to march with an army for 
the recovery of Palestine, she would be their laun- 
dress." 16 The Countess of Richmond, after the death 
of Edmund Tudor, married secondly, Sir Henry 
Stafford, and thirdly, Lord Stanley, afterwards made 
Earl of Derby, and called by Henry in the play " Our 
father Stanley." Margaret had no issue by either of 
these marriages. 17 

In the person of Henry VII., descended by the 
father's side from a long line of Welch and British 
princes, and by his mother from Edward III., the 
glory of the house of Tudor was consummated ; 18 when 
he mounted the throne he was the only surviving male 
representative of the House of Lancaster, whilst his 
marriage with the daughter and heir of Edward IV. 
gave him in reality his best title to that crown which 
had been placed upon his head on Bosworth field, for 
any right that he could possibly lay claim to by descent 
was necessarily to be postponed to that of his mother, 
who did not die till the year 1509, the last of her 
son's reign. 

16 Fuller. 

17 The Countess of Richmond was compelled by Richard III. 
to bear the train of his Queen Anne at their coronation. 

18 Merlin and Taliesin had foretold that the Welsh should 
regain their sovereignty over this island, which seemed to be 
accomplished in the house of Tudor. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 179 

It may be advisable to notice briefly the succession 
of the crown from Henry VII. in the House of Tudor. 
It has been before stated that Henry VIII., who suc- 
ceeded his father in 1509, married his brother's widow 
Katherine, 19 whom he divorced, after having been 
united to her for eighteen years, on the plea that 

" the marriage with his brother's wife 
Crept too near his conscience ;" 

whereas in truth 

" his conscience 
(Had) crept too near another lady." 

Queen Katherine is well known as one of the finest 
characters drawn by the hand of Shakspeare, who 
makes even her enemies bear testimony to her excel- 
lence. She bore to her husband two sons who died 
young, and one daughter, 

" The model of oar chaste loves," 

Mary, afterwards Queen of England. The second 
queen of Henry was the Lady Anne. 

" Sir Thomas Bullen's daughter, 
The viscount Rochford, one of her highness' women ;" 



19 This excellent and injured princess was fourth daughter of 
the celebrated patrons of Columbus, Ferdinand and Isabella, 
king and queen of Spain, and was a direct descendant from 
Edward IIT. of England, through John of Gaunt, whose daugh- 
ter, by his second wife Constance of Castile, Catherine, married 
her cousin Henry HI. King of Castile and Leon, and their son, 
John II., was father of Queen Isabella, speed. 



180 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

whose beauty had attracted the amorous king's notice. 
She was by him mother of Elizabeth, afterwards Queen 
of England. After three years' union with Anne 
Boleyn, the king formed an attachment to the Lady 
Jane Seymour, to gratify which, Anne was executed 
upon false pretences, May 19th, 1536, and the day 
after her death, Jane became the third and best-loved 
wife of Henry, who by her was father of his successor, 
Edward VI., of whom the queen died in child-bed. 
Henry's fourth wife was the Princess Anne of Cleves, 
who was divorced to make way for the Lady Catherine 
Howard, who, being executed, was followed by the 
Lady Catherine Parr, daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, 
widow of the Lord Latimer ; she survived her cruel 
husband, narrowly escaping the fate of her prede- 
cessors. 20 Henry VIII. died in 1547, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son Edward, sixth of that name, 21 then 
eight years old, whose pious and excellent character 
has caused him to be likened to Josiah, King of 
Judah, who began his reign at the same early age, 
and like whom, King Edward " did that which was 
right in the sight of the Lord." 22 Edward VI. died 



20 It is a remarkable fact that all the sis wives of Henry VIII. 
were, like himself, descended from Edward I. 

21 Edward VI. crowned the lion supporter of his arms with 
an imperial crown, as it is now used. 

" Edward, the spotless Tudor." southey. 
" King, child, and seraph, blended in the mien 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 181 

in 1553, having been prevailed upon, in his last 
enfeebled hours of disease, by the ambitious Duke of 
Northumberland, to exclude his sisters from the suc- 
cession in favour of the Lady Jane Grey. The Prin- 
cess Mary, however, who escaped the snare laid for 
her by Northumberland, was proclaimed queen as 
well as the Lady Jane, who shortly fell into Mary's 
power, and was beheaded immediately after her hus- 
band. Queen Mary married Philip, son of Charles 
V. the Emperor, a match peculiarly displeasing to the 
nation ; no issue resulted from this marriage, and upon 
Mary's death in 1558, her sister ascended the throne 
as Queen Elizabeth, amidst the acclamations of the 
nation. It does not fall within the scope of this work 
to enter into an account of this reign, so fertile in events, 
and garnished with such a bright galaxy of some of 
England's choicest worthies. It is more apposite to 
notice that the near relationship of the beautiful Mary, 
Queen of Scots, to the throne of England, to which 
her partisans claimed for her the right in preference 
to that of Elizabeth, was the cause, in addition to the 
rivalry on personal grounds, of the bitter hostility 
evinced towards that unfortunate princess, when, flee- 
ing from her own rebellious subjects, she threw her- 
self upon the protection and supposed generosity of 



Of pious Edward, kneeling as helsnelt 

In meek and simple infancy." wordsworth. 



182 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Elizabeth ; an hostility which displayed itself for nine- 
teen years, by imprisonment and indignities, ended 
only by the tragedy in Fotheringay Castle. 23 Eliza- 
beth, during her whole life-time seems to have taken 
a pleasure in deluding various suitors, both foreign 
princes and native nobles of the highest rank, and 
even deceiving her parliament, with the idea that she 
intended to marry, an intention probably which she 
least meaned to fulfil even when she most proclaimed 
it. At her death in 1603, she was succeeded by her 
kinsman James VI. of Scotland, son of the murdered 
Mary, Queen of Scots, who has been shown in the 
preceding chapter to be doubly derived from Henry 
VII. The next chapter will be devoted to the Scottish 
monarchs, ancestors of James VI. 

23 For the honour of the maiden queen, one would wish to 
have the power to expunge from English history the record of 
Elizabeth's transactions with regard to Mary Stuart, from the 
period of Robert Dudley being proposed to her as a husband, to 
that well-acted -scene of distress of mind when the royal victim 
had perished by her order. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 183 



CHAPTER XV. 

" And some I see 
That two-fold balls, and treble sceptres carry." 

MACBETH. 

From Kenneth Mac Alpine in lineal descent to 
King Robert the Bruce. 

HAVING in the preceding chapters traced the 
sovereigns of England until the accession of 
the House of Stuart in the person of James, sixth 
of that name in Scotland, and First in England, it 
becomes necessary to give his pedigree from the kings 
of Scotland, contenting ourselves with beginning at 
the reign of Kenneth Mac Alpine in the ninth cen- 
tury. 

Of Kenneth Sir Walter Scott says, "he might 
justly be termed the first king of Scotland, being the 
first who possessed such a territory as had title to 
be termed a kingdom." He was the son of Alpine, 
King of Scots, who was the son of Aycha IV., the 
" Achaius" of some chroniclers, King of Scots, by 
Urgaria, sister of Ungus, King of the Picts. In 836, 



184 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Kenneth succeeded to the Scottish throne, 1 and in 
842 to that of the Picts, and thenceforth the latter 
nation merged in the former. Kenneth was a warlike 
and vigorous prince, and reigned till 859, when at his 
death, his brother Donald mounted the throne, who 
was succeeded in 863 by Constantine II., the son 
of Kenneth, and who, being slain in battle against the 
Danes in 881, left a son, Donald IV., who, however, 
did not obtain the throne till 893 ; he is styled " the 
eloquent" by the Gaelic bards, and lived till 904, when 
he was succeeded by Constantine III., who in con- 
federacy with Anlaf the Dane, suffered a tremendous 
defeat from Athelstan of England, at the great battle 
of Brunan-burgh, whence the King of Scots escaped 
to retire to a cloister. His successor was Malcolm, 
first of that name, son of Donald IV., who added to 
his dominions Cumberland and Westmoreland, for 
which he did homage to Edmund the Elder ; he died 
in 953, and left a son, Kenneth III., who did not 
succeed his father immediately, three kings intervening 
before he came to the throne in 970. He was con- 
temporary with Edgar of England, whose court he 
visited, and in his reign the Danes entered Scotland, 
and were defeated at the famous battle of Loncarty. 2 

1 Kenneth's father Alpine was slain in cold blood by the 
Picts, who set up his head on a pole : his son avenged the murder 
by destroying the national name. 

2 Some modern genealogists refuse to recognize the romantic 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 185 

Kenneth III., in 994, was assassinated through the 
revenge of a lady of rank, whose son had been executed 
by his orders. Two princes, Constantine IV., and 
Kenneth IV. ascended the throne before it came to 
Malcolm II., son of Kenneth III., in 1003. Malcolm 
was " an able prince and renowned leader ;" he fought 
so vigorously against the Danes that they respected 
his power and that of his successors, and in 1020, he 
obtained, by cession, the rich district of Lothian. He 
resisted the claim of Ethelred of England to the tax 
called Danegelt, but he agreed with Canute, that his 
grandson, Duncan, should do homage for Cumberland. 
He died in 1033, and was succeeded by "the gracious 
Duncan" of Shakspeare, who was the son of Malcolm's 
daughter, Bethog or Beatrice, married to Crinan, 
abbot of Dunkeld. A second daughter of Malcolm 
II. is said by Boetius, Buchanan, and Lesley, to be 
Doada, who marrying Finlay, Thane of Fife, was 
mother of Macbeth, 3 whose wife was the Lady Gruoch, 
the " Lady Macbeth" of the bard, daughter of Boidhe, 
son of Kenneth IV., who was dethroned and slain by 



origin of the noble house of the Hays of Errol, which has been 
often ascribed to the brave old countryman, who, with his two 
sons, turned the tide of battle at Loncarty. The present ennobled 
house, however, bears arms in allusion to this circumstance. 

3 The old Scottish chroniclers call Macbeth the son of Finlegb, 
or Finlay, tbe Irish annalists style him the son of Finlaagli, and 
in one chronicle he is called Mac Finleg, 



186 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Malcolm II., and widow of Kilcomgain, the Maormor 
of Moray. The transcendent genius of Shakspeare 
can throw such a lustre around a fiction, that it is not 
to be wondered at if, amidst the glare, the historical 
truth is lost sight of. Misled by the early chroniclers, 
to whom he had access, the poet has described Mac- 
beth and his wife, 

" This butcher and his fiend-like queen," 

in the blackest colours, as treacherous hosts and mur- 
derous subjects. But the able and learned George 
Chalmers rescues their names from the double charge 
of ingratitude and treason. " The Lady Gruoch, with 
great strength of character, had the most afflictive 
injuries constantly rankling at her heart; a grandfather 
dethroned and slain, a brother assassinated, her (first) 
husband burnt within his castle with fifty of his friends, 
herself a fugitive with Lulach her infant son. Such 
were the injuries which prompted the Lady Gruoch's 
vengeful thoughts, and which filled her 

"from the crown to the toe, top-full 
Of direst cruelty!" 

Sir Walter Scott asserts that Macbeth's claim to 
the throne was better than that of Duncan, according 
to the rule of Scottish succession ; and that " as a 
king, the tyrant so much exclaimed against was in 
reality a firm, just, and equitable prince." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 187 

Macbeth did not murder Duncan in his own castle, 
as represented in the splendid production of the poet, 
but attacked and slew him in fight in 1039 ; neither 
did Macbeth perish before the army of Si ward in the 
action near 

" High Dunsinane hill." 

He escaped from the battle, and fell in an action two 
years afterwards, viz. in 1056. But as Sir Walter 
Scott observes, " While the works of Shakspeare are 
read, and the English language subsists, history may 
say what she will, but the general reader will only 
recollect Macbeth as a sacrilegious usurper." It is 
perhaps hardly necessary to remark that the poet has 
closely followed the traditional accounts of the old 
chroniclers respecting Macbeth, even to his super- 
natural agents. Shakspeare gives a favourable impres- 
sion of the character and reign of Duncan, when 
Macbeth is made to confess that he 

" Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 
So clear in his great office, that his virtues 
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against 
The deep damnation of his taking off." 

Duncan married a sister of the " warlike Siward," 

the great Earl of Northumberland; and of her we 

gather from one of the characters of the poet, that 

piety was her distinguishing feature : 

" the queen that bore thee 
Oft'ner upon her knees than on her feet, 
Died every day she lived." 



188 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

As Siward's granddaughter Maud, by her marriage 
with Duncan's grandson, David I, is an ancestress of 
her present Majesty, it may not be uninteresting to 
take some notice of Siward's parentage and character. 
He was supposed to be of Danish extraction, and the 
tradition ran that his grandfather was a bear, which 
probably had its rise from his name, Ursus (a nephew 
of the King of Denmark, Glover), whilst that of 
Siward's father was Beam or Biorn ; this rumour 
Siward did not seek to discourage, as it tended to 
enhance his formidable fame. We find Siward taking 
an active part in the military enterprises of Hardi- 
canute ; and when Edward the Confessor was menaced 
by the rebellion of Earl Godwin and his sons, the 
powerful Earl Siward so opportunely brought him 
assistance that the factious nobles were obliged to 
have recourse to flight. We next find him entrusted 
with the command of the army sent by the Confessor 
to place Malcolm upon the throne of his late father 

Duncan: 4 

" gracious England hath 
Lent us good Siward and ten thousand men ; 
An older and a better soldier none 
That Christendom gives out." 

In the action fought before Macbeth's castle Siward 



4 The Saxon chronicle under the year 1054 records that 
" Siward went with a great army into Scotland, both with ship 
force and land force, and fought with the Scots, and routed the 



AND PRINCE ALEERT. 189 

lost his eldest son Osberne, " young Siward," and the 
poet has given us a well authenticated anecdote. When 
told that his son 

" has paid a soldier's debt," 
with the nattering addition that 

" like a man he died," 
the old warrior anxiously asks 

" Had he his hurts before ?" 
and being answered 

" Ay, on the front," 
rejoins 

" Why then God's soldier be he ! 
Had I as many sons as I have hairs, 
I would not wish them to a fairer death : 
And so his knell is knoll'd." 

Siward's own death was in keeping with his active 
life and his notions of martial honour. " When he 
found his own death approaching (1055) he ordered 
his servants to clothe him in a complete suit of armour, 
and sitting erect on the couch, with a spear in his 
hand, declared that in that posture, the only one 
worthy of a warrior, he would patiently await the 
fatal moment." 5 Rapin says that Siward married 
Elfreda, daughter of Earl Aldred. 

King Macbeth, and slew all the best in the land, and brought 
thence much spoil, such as no man ever got before." Lambard's 
Sax. Chron. 
5 Hume. 



190 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

On the death of Siward, his surviving son Wal- 
theof being very young, the government of Northum- 
berland was given to Harold's brother, Tostig, who 
was soon after deprived of it for his cruel and violent 
conduct. In the year 1074, however, Waltheof ob- 
tained this earldom, having previously received from 
William the Conqueror (whose niece Judith, daughter 
of Lambert, Earl of Lens, 6 by Maud, daughter of Har- 
lavende Burgo and Arleta, he had married) the earl- 
doms of Northampton and Huntingdon. Yet before 
this accession of honours, Waltheof had supported 
Edgar the Atheling in his expedition from Scotland, 
and upon the taking of York had been made governor 
of that city, which he long bravely defended against the 
power of William. In an unguarded moment he was 
beguiled into the conspiracy of the earls of Hereford 
and Norfolk, to dethrone the Conqueror, and although 
he endeavoured to make amends for his lapse by reveal- 
ing the plot to the king, yet that monarch, goaded by 
Judith, who wished to marry another person, caused 
him to be beheaded in 1075, to the great sorrow of 
the English, who regarded the earl as the last resource 
of their nation. He was canonized as Saint Waldeve, 
and miracles were reported to be wrought at his 
tomb. 7 

6 The arms ascribed to Lambert, Earl of Lens, are, " Ermine, 
three piles wavy gules." heylin. 

7 The arms ascribed to Waltheof are, " Argent, a lion ram- 
pant azure, a chief or." glover. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 191 

" Malcolm III., (son of Duncan) called Caen- 
Mohr, or great head, from the misproportioned size 
of that part of his body, ascended the Scottish throne 
in 1056. He was a prince of valour and talent, and 
having been bred in the school of adversity, had pro- 
fited by the lessons taught in that stern seminary." 8 
In the year 1067, the Atheling Edgar, beginning to 
dread the caresses of the Conqueror, and intending to 
sail for Hungary with his mother Agatha and his 
sisters Margaret and Christina, " and many good men 
with him," 9 was driven upon the coast of Scotland, 
where he was hospitably received by Malcolm III., 
who shortly after espoused the Saxon Princess Mar- 
garet, and sheltered many of her countrymen. 10 Of 
Malcolm's excellent queen, called by her admiring 
subjects "the sainted Margaret," Sir Walter Scott 
thus speaks : " She did all in her power, and influenced 
as far as possible the mind of her husband, to relieve 
the distresses of her Saxon countrymen, of high or 
low degree, assuaged their afflictions, and was zealous 



8 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

9 Sax. Chron. From the Saxons who fled with Edgar to the 
court of Malcolm are descended many noble families, among 
them, those of Lindsay, Ramsay, Sandilands, Soulis, Maxwell. 

10 Mr. Collen, with the exception of Fisher, is the only 
modern authority (at least within the Compiler's knowledge), 
who has noticed the marriage of the Atheling Edgar to Marga- 
ret, sister of Malcolm III. 



192 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

in protecting those who had been involved in the ruin 
which the battle of Hastings brought on the royal 
house of Edward the Confessor. The gentleness and 
mildness of temper proper to this amiable woman, 
probably also the experience of her prudence and 
good sense, had great weight with Malcolm, who, 
though preserving a portion of the ire and ferocity 
belonging to the king of a wild people, was far from 
being insensible to the suggestions of his amiable 
consort. He stooped his mind to hers on religious 
matters, adorned her favourite books of devotion with 
rich bindings, and was often seen to kiss and pay 
respect to the volumes which he was unable to read." 
Having embroiled himself in war with William Rufus, 11 
Malcolm was slain, with his eldest son Edward, near 
Alnwick, Nov. 13th, 1093, and his excellent queen 
only survived her double loss three days, 1 ' 2 leaving two 
daughters, 1. Matilda, who became the queen of 



11 The old chroniclers assert that Malcolm laid claim to Eng- 
land in right of his consort. 

" This Malcolin of Scotland greatly claimed 
To have England then by his wife's right ; 
Margarete, suster of Edgar, heire proclaimed 
Of England whole, that expelled was by might, 
Of Kyng Wyllyam conqueror by unright." 

HARDYNG, p. 239. 

12 " When quene Margaret so of ye tidynges knewe 

She eate never meate for sorowe dyed anone." 

IBID. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 193 

Henry I. of England; and 2. Mary, who married 
Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, whose daughter Matilda 
married King Stephen ; and four sons, Edmund, Edgar, 
Alexander, and David, whose rights were usurped 
by Donald Bane (the " Donalbain " of Shakspeare), 
younger brother of Malcolm III. In 1098, William 
Rufus sent an army into Scotland under the command 
of Edgar the Atheling, by whose means Edgar, the 
third son of Malcolm was seated on the throne, who, 
dying in 1106 without issue, was succeeded by his 
next brother Alexander I., called the Fierce, and he 
also having no issue was succeeded by his youngest 
brother David I., a monarch of great talents, who 
had been educated at the court of Henry I. of Eng- 
land, his brother-in-law. Upon the death of that 
monarch, King David strenuously supported the title 
of the Empress Maud, his niece, and waged war 
against the usurping Stephen by carrying an army 
into Yorkshire ; he suffered however a great defeat in 
the battle of the Standard, near Northallerton, from 
the northern barons, August 22nd, 1138. In 1141, 
David visited his niece Matilda in London during her 
brief reign, but shortly quitted her in disgust at the 
indisposition she showed to listen to his friendly coun- 
sel. In 1153, King David, "having discharged all 
his duty as a man and a monarch, by settling his 
affairs as well as the early age of his grandchildren 
would permit, was found dead in an attitude of devo- 



194 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

tion, May 24." 13 Of his character, Buchanan states 
"that his life affords the perfect example of a good 
and patriot king." His profuse liberality in founding 
the splendid abbeys of Kelso, Holyrood, Jedburg, 
Melrose, Dryburgh, &c, which procured for him from 
the monks the title of Saint, drew forth the bitter 
sarcasm of one of his descendants, James I. " He 
kythed a sair saint to the crowne." By his consort 
Maud, daughter of Waltheop, Earl of Huntingdon, 
David had an only son Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, 14 
who died a year before his father, to the great grief of 
the nation, to whom he was endeared by his virtues 
and the courage he had displayed at the battle of the 
Standard, where the division of the army he com- 
manded had been victorious. Prince Henry married 
Ada, daughter of William de Warren, 15 second 
Earl of Warren and Surrey by Isabel, daughter of 
Hugh, the great Earl of Vermandois ; which Wil- 
liam was son of William de Warren, who married 
Gundred, youngest daughter of William the Con- 



13 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

H « Whiche Henry was erle notified 

Of Huntyngdon without any dispayre, 

And sonne was to this noble Kyng Davy, 

That wedded had erle Waldeve's doughter only." 

HARDYNG, p. 253. 

' 5 The arms of Warren were, " Chequy, or and azure." 

GLOVER. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 195 

querovy to whom de Warren was nearly related, the 
Conqueror calling him "cousin." The children of 
Prince Henry and Ada 16 were, Malcolm and William, 
successively Kings of Scots, and David, Earl of 
Huntingdon, to whose posterity the crown eventually 
came, and from whom the family of Stuart is derived 
on one side, as will he seen presently. On the death 
of David I., his grandson Malcolm IV. mounted the 
throne at the age of twelve years ; he was obliged to 
yield up to Henry II. all the Scottish possessions in 
Cumberland and Northumberland, and moreover to 
do homage for Lothian. Malcolm died in 1165, at 
the early age of twenty-four years, and was succeeded 
by his next brother, William the Lion, who making 
an attempt to recover Northumberland, was in 1174, 
whilst reconnoitering before Alnwick with a small 
party, taken prisoner by a very superior force of the 
English. To obtain his freedom, the Scottish king 
consented to do homage to Henry II. for Scotland 
and all his other dominions. " Before this disgrace- 
ful treaty, which was concluded at Falaise in Nor- 
mandy, in Dec. 1174, the kings of England had not 



16 It is very important to bear this alliance (which is often 
only obscurely hinted at) in mind, since through Ada de Warren, 
great granddaughter of William the Conqueror and his consort 
Matilda, the Stuarts, and those families who spring from them, 
claim a descent from Alfred the Great and Charlemagne, the 
direct ancestors of Matilda. 



196 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the semblance of a right to exact homage for a single 
inch of Scottish ground, Lothian alone excepted, 
which was ceded to Malcolm II., as has been re- 
peatedly mentioned, by grant of the Northumbrian 
Earl Eadulf." 17 This claim of homage was renounced 
by Cceur-de-Lion by treaty, reserving however the 
vassalage for Lothian. William died in 1214, aged 
seventy-two; he received his cognomen of the Lion 
from his being the first who adopted that animal for 
the armorial bearing of Scotland, 18 and hence the chief 
herald for Scotland was called " Lord Lion King at 
Arms." 19 William had several illegitimate children, 20 



17 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

18 Although many writers ascribe the present arms borne for 
Scotland to Achaius, whose lion they say was surrounded with 
the tressure of lilies by his friend Charlemagne, yet there is no 
proof of any impression or seal before Malcolm III., who, when 
he met the Conqueror on the borders, erected a cross with his 
arms on one side, a lion within a double tressure, according to 
Buchanan. Yet Mr. Porny states that when the tressure was 
granted by Charlemagne in 809, " it was only borne single and 
flowery ; but that in the year 1371, King Robert Stewart 
doubled it, to testify his approbation of this alliance which he 
renewed with Charles V., then King of France." 

" The double tressure might you see, 
First by Achaius borne." 

Marmion, Canto iv. st. 7. 

19 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

20 Of these children, who were daughters, descended many of 
the rival competitors for the crown when disputed at the death 
of Margaret of Norway. See Appendix E. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 197 

and one son, Alexander, by his wife Ermengarde de 
Beaumont, daughter of Richard, son of Roscelyn, 
Viscount de Beaumont, who married Maud, natural 
daughter of King Henry I. of England. 

Alexander II. was a wise and active monarch, but 
much engaged in domestic broils with his subjects ; 
his first wife was the Princess Joan, daughter of King 
John of England, but he left no issue by her. His 
second wife was Mary de Coucy, daughter of the Sire 
or Seigneur of that great and powerful house, which 
sometimes defied the whole strength of the French 
monarchs, and of whose pride as displayed in their 
motto an ancient writer informs us: Selden says, 
" these ancient barons affected rather to be styled by 
name of Sire than baron, and the baron of Coucy 
carried to that purpose the rithme in his device : 

-' Je ne suis roy ne prince aussi, 
Je suis le sire de Coucy.' " *■ 

Of this marriage the issue was a son, Alexander 
III., who at eight years of age succeeded his father 
in 1249. He was married to his first cousin, the 



21 Sir Walter Scott quotes another instance of the "pride 
which apes humility," in the case of the Lord Seyton, who 
refused an earldom from Mary, Queen of Scots, who wrote, or 
caused to he written, 

" II y a des comptes, des roys, des dues ; ainsi 
C'est assez pour moy d'estre Seigneur de Seton." 



198 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry III. of Eng- 
land, by whom he had a daughter, called also Mar- 
garet, who in 1281 married Eric, King of Norway - 
whose issue was a daughter named likewise Margaret, 
and commonly called " the Maid of Norw r ay." Upon 
the death of his English consort, Alexander married 
secondly, Zoleta, daughter of the Count de Dreux, 
hut shortly after was killed 1285, by his horse falling 
with him over a cliff, 22 to the deep grief of a nation, 
which could not, however, foresee the long train of 
calamities which the death of their excellent prince 
was to bring upon their devoted country. The Maid 
of Norway was now the heir to her grandfather, 
Alexander III. ; and Edward I. of England " formed 
the project of extending his royal sway over the nor- 
thern part of Britain by a marriage between this royal 
heiress and his only son Edward, Prince of Wales." 23 
This treaty of alliance was broken off by the early 
death of the young queen Margaret in 1290, on her 
way from Norway to Scotland. By this unfortunate 
event the descendants of Alexander III. were all 
extinct, and the succession to the crown became the 



22 " He put his hand on the earlie's head ; 

He shewed him a rock, beside the sea, 
Where a king lay stiff, beneath his steed, 
And steel-dight nobles wiped their e'e." 

THOMAS THE IiIJY3IER. 

23 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 






AND PRINCE ALBERT. 1&9 

subject of dispute among several claimants. 24 Those 
amongst them whose right was the best founded 
derived their title as descendants of David, 25 Earl of 
Huntingdon, brother to William the Lion. Earl 
David, by his wife Maud, daughter of Hugh 
Kivilioc, Earl of Chester, 26 left three daughters, 1. 
Margaret, married to Alan, the Lord of Galloway, 
and their eldest daughter Devorgoil married John 
Baliol, whose son John was one of the competitors 
for the crown ; 2. Isabella, who married Robert 
Bruce, whose son Robert was another competitor ; 
3. Ada, the youngest daughter, married Henry de 



24 See Appendix E. Competitors for the crown of Scotland, 

25 Earl David bore for his arms, " Or, three piles the points 
in base gules," and his father-in-law, Hugh Kivilioc, bore for 
arms, "Azure, three garbs or." Glover. Heylin charges the 
field with six garbs. This Earl of Huntingdon is one of the 
chief personages in Sir Walter Scott's delightful " Talisman," 
under the guise of Sir Kenneth, the Knight of the Leopai'd. 
" The adventurous knight, Kenneth, arises David Earl of Hunt- 
ingdon, Prince Royal of Scotland." Chap, xxviii. 

26 The mother of Maud was Bertrade, daughter of Simon, 
Earl of Evereux; Hugh Kivilioc (who died in 1180-1) was son 
of Randal de Gemon, Earl of Chester, whose wife was Maud, 
daughter of Robert, the famous Earl of Gloucester; Randal 
was son of Randulph de Meschines by Lucy, daughter of Algar 
the Saxon, Earl of Leicester, son of Earl Leofric and the Lady 
Godiva ; the father of Randulph was Ralph de Meschines, who 
married Maud, or Margaret (Glover), niece of William the 
Conqueror. 



200 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Hastings, whose descendant 27 claimed a share in the 
crown in right of Ada, and against whom Baliol and 
Bruce made common cause, contending that the king- 
dom was indivisible, though each asserted the prefer- 
ence of his own title, Baliol as grandson of the eldest 
daughter of Earl David, and Bruce as being one step 
nearer in blood. 28 " Modern lawyers," says Sir Wal- 
ter Scott, " would at once pronounce in Baliol's favour, 
but the precise nature of representation had not then 
been fixed in Scotland." Edward I. of England, 
stepped in with a demand to be sole arbiter in the 
competition, as lord paramount, and twenty castles 
were given up to him to enable him to enforce his 
award, which, as is well known, was decided in favour 
of John Baliol. The fierce and continuous warfare 
that ensued between the Scottish nation and the ambi- 



27 Hume and other writers call this competitor a son of Ada, 
whereas he appears to have been a great grandson, viz. John, 
who was the second Lord Hastings by writ, and descended from 
William de Hastings, steward to King Henry I. 

SIR N. HARRIS NICOLAS. 

28 Earl David had another daughter, who probably died un- 
married, and a son, John, called Le Scot, who became Earl of 
Chester, but " for that he dyed without issue, and his seigniories 
enjoyed regall prerogatives, therefore did Henry resume the 
county into his own hands, and in lieu thereof, allotted unto his 
foure sisters other inheritances, least that so goodly a lordship 
should happen to be shared between female distaffes." 

GLOVER. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 201 

tious Edward, and carried on by his son and grandson, 
brought into the field a grandson of Robert Bruce the 
competitor, of the same name, who in 1306, obtained 
the crown of Scotland, which continued in his direct 
descendants to James VI., who at the death of the 
last sovereign of the House of Tudor was called to fill 
the throne of England, when Scotland merged in the 
union with her former powerful rival. 



202 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER XVI. 

** Avenger of thy country's shame, 
Restorer of her injured fame, 
Bless'd in thy sceptre and thy sword, 
De Bruce ! fair Scotland's rightful lord, 
Bless'd in thy deeds, and in thy fame, 
What lengthen'd honours wait thy name !" 

Loud of the Isles, Canto ii. st. 32. 

The Pedigree of the Family of Bruce, to 
Robert II. 

PLAYFAIR, in his account of the Bruce family, 
states that in a MS. genealogy, drawn up ex- 
pressly for the Earl of Ailesbury (descended from 
them), they are derived from Theobotan, Duke of 
Sleswick, in the beginning of the eighth century, 
whose wife was Gundella, daughter of Vitellan, 
Lord of Bellansted ; their son Euslin married As- 
crida, daughter of Reginald, son of Olaus, King 
of Norway, and their son Reginald, was by his first 
wife, father of the celebrated Rollo, first Duke of 
Normandy. Reginald, or Rognewald, was general 
to his cousin, Harold the Fair-haired, who created 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 203 

him Lord of North and South Mura, and Jarl of 
Orkney ; he married secondly, Groe, daughter of 
Urimund, Count of Toedem, and by her was father 
of Eynor, Earl of Orkney, commonly called " Turf 
Eynor," from his teaching the inhabitants the use of 
turf as fuel ; he died about 930. His son was Tor- 
fine, also Earl of Orkney and of Shetland, who 
lived to a very advanced age ; he married Garliotta, 
daughter of Duncan, Earl of Caithness, and left a 
son and successor Lother, or Ladavar, whose wife, 
according to Dr. Barry, was Audua, daughter of 
Kiavala, King of Ireland, but according to other 
authorities, Africa, daughter of Somerled, Thane 
or Lord of the Isles, and Prince of Argyle, by 
Effrica daughter of Olaus, son of Harold Har- 
fager. Ladvar died about 996 (Barry), and was 
succeeded in his earldom by his son Sygurt, called 
the Gross, who was a powerful prince, and increased 
the consequence of his family by marrying for his 
second wife, Alice, daughter of Malcolm II., by whom 
he was father of Torfine. Sygurt met his death in 
1099, after he had gained the battle of Clontarf, in 
the following manner, as recorded by Edmonston in 
his View of the Zetland Islands : " Suddenly clapping 
spurs to his horse, as he was returning home in triumph, 
bearing, like each of his followers, one of these bloody 
spoils (a human head), a large front tooth in the 
mouth of the head which hung dangling by his side, 



204 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

struck the calf of his leg, the wound mortified, and he 

died." 

" At every saddle-bow, 
A gory head was hung." 1 

By his first wife, whose name is not ascertained, 
Sygurt had four sons, Enion, Somerled, Rognewald, 
and Brusce, first of that name, afterwards so cele- 
brated, who was Earl of Caithness and Suther- 
land ; he married Ostrida, daughter of Reginald 
Walfron, Earl of Gothland and Vigen, and their 
eldest son Regenwald, married Arlogia, daughter 
of Waldemar, King of Russia, and their second 
son was Robert de Brusce, who built the castle of 
Brusce in Normandy, and was one of the counsellors 
of Duke Robert. He married Emma, daughter of 
Alan, Earl of Bretagne, and was father of Robert 
le Bruis or Brus, who accompanied William, Duke of 
Normandy, in his invasion of England. For the valour 
he displayed at the battle of Hastings, he was sent by 
the Conqueror to subdue the northern parts of Bri- 
tain, which having successfully accomplished, he was 
rewarded with forty-three lordships in the East and 
West Ridings of Yorkshire, and fifty-one in the North 
Riding, where the manor and castle of Skelton are 
situated, and which became the chief seat of the 
family. He died about 1094, having married Agnes, 

1 Southev. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 205 

daughter of Fulk Paganel, according to Dugdale, but 
as other writers state, Agnes, the daughter of Wal- 
theg, Earl of Saint Clare. He had two sons : 
Adam, who succeeded as second Lord of Skelton ; and 
a second son, Robert de Brus, became first Lord of 
Annandale, which title he obtained in virtue of his 
marriage with Agnes Annand, the heiress of Annan- 
dale, whose hand he gained through the mediation of 
King David I., with whom, when residing in England, 
De Brus had formed a great friendship, accompanying 
him on his return to Scotland, where he was accounted 
one of his nobles and subjects. De Brus enjoyed the 
favour of King Henry I., and also of King Stephen, 
who, in 1137, joined him, then advanced in years, in a 
commission with Bernard de Baliol, 2 to endeavour to 
dissuade David I. from his intended invasion of 
England ; but being unsuccessful in his purpose, Brus 
withdrew his allegiance from the Scottish king, who 
was defeated by Stephen's troops at the battle of the 
Standard, wherein Robert Brus took prisoner his own 
son Robert, only fourteen years of age. Brus died 
about 1143, leaving his son Robert to succeed him 
in the English honours and lordship of Skelton, and 



2 The reader will be struck with the singular fact of these 
two Norman barons, then friendly with each other, being sent 
to fight against a people, for the crown of which nation their 
descendants were in time competitors, and bitter enemies. 



206 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

and another son, William, upon whom devolved the 
barony of Annandale as second lord. Playfair states 
that William de Brus married Judith, daughter 
of William de Lancaster, Baron of Kendal, 3 whose 
wife was Gundred, daughter to William, second 
Earl of Warren, related therefore to the Conqueror. 
William de Brus died in 1183, and was succeeded by 
his son Robert, as third Lord of Annandale, who 
was a nobleman of great valour and piety, and by hi3 
wife Isabel, natural daughter of King William the 
Lion, he had only one son, Robert, who succeeded 
his father in 1191, as fourth Lord of Annandale; he 
was surnamed "the Noble," and married Isabel, 
second daughter of Prince David, Earl of Hunting- 
don, grandson of King David I. By this royal alliance 
the lords of Annandale came to be reckoned among 
the greatest subjects in Europe. Robert died at an 
advanced age in 1245, leaving a son, Robert Bruce, 
fifth Lord of Annandale, afterwards competitor for the 
crown of Scotland, in right of his mother. In 1250, 
he was one of the justices of the Common Pleas ; in 

3 He is called by Glover, William Eitz-Gilbert, surnamed of 
Lancaster, Baron of Kendal ; and of his wife Gundred he says, 
she was " a virago of manly courage, who cast out the garrison 
of King Stephen out of the castle of Warwick, and delivered it 
to Henry, the Duke of Normandy, the son of Maud the Empress, 
in 1152." Gundred was sister to Adama, or Ada, who married 
Prince Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, ancestor of the kings of 
Scotland, and of Her present Majesty. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 207 

the 39th of Henry III. he was appointed sheriff of 
Cumberland, and governor of Carlisle Castle. He 
took the side of King Henry in the contest with 
Leicester, and at the battle of Northampton he took 
several prisoners ; but in 1264, at the battle of Lewes, 
where he commanded the Scottish auxiliaries, he was, 
with the king, taken prisoner, but was released after 
Henry's success at Evesham, in 1265. In the year 
1290, after the death of Margaret of Norway, the 
young queen of Scotland, Robert Bruce, who at that 
time must have been nearly eighty years of age, was 
a Competitor for the crown with John Baliol, who 
was his successful rival. When Baliol incurred the 
displeasure of King Edward, Bruce joined the army 
of the English king, 1296, in the hope that if Baliol 
were dethroned, his own nomination to the crown 
would follow. " Bruce, 4 after the victory of Dunbar, 
conceived his turn of triumph was approaching, and 
hinted to Edward his hope of being preferred to the 
throne which Baliol had forfeited. ' Have we no other 
business,' said Edward, looking at him askance, f. than 
to conquer kingdoms for you ?' " 5 Bruce, hurt at this 



4 Bruce the Competitor was one of those who subscribed to 
the " Ragman Roll" in 1292; and Prynne calls him " nobilis vir 
Robertus de Brus, Dominus vallis Annandiae." 

5 Sir Walter Scott, who states that Bruce retired to his great 
Yorkshire estates, after Edward's repulse to his claims. Hist, 
of Scotland, vol. i. 



208 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

scornful reply, retired to his castle at Lochmaben, 
where he died soon after. 

The frequent recurrence of the same Christian 
name in this family 6 has led to some confusion as to 
the identity of the individuals, and also in respect to 
their marriages. Authorities differ as to the wife of 
Bruce the Competitor ; Dugdale makes her to be the 
Countess of Carrick, in which he is clearly in error, 
as she was the wife of his son, who became first Earl 
of Carrick of his name in her right ; George Chalmers 
calls the Competitor's wife Christian, but other writers, 
as Betham, assert that she was Isabel, daughter of 
Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester; whilst Robert 
Glover says that the Isabel who married the Competi- 
tor was granddaughter of Gilbert de Clare, being the 
child of his daughter Amice, who married Baldwin de 
Rivers. The best authorities, however, agree that 
the grandmother of King Robert Bruce was of the 
noble and royally allied House of Clare, and that 
by her, Robert the Competitor had three sons; 1. 
Robert, his heir ; 2. Sir Bernard de Bruce ; and 3. 
John de Bruce, ancestor of the earls and marquesses 



6 Not only was the favourite name Robert repeated from 
father to son in this house, but it was even held by two brothers 
at the same time ; thus the father of King Robert had a brother 
of the same name, and the king himself is said, by Sir N. Harris 
Nicolas, to have had an elder brother Robert. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 209 

of Ailesbury, and of the earls of Elgin, 7 and also of 
the baronets of Stenhouse, and of the Bruces of Airth, 
of Blair Castle, of Kinnaird, &c. 

Robert de Bruce, sixth Lord of Annandale, had 
attended Prince Edward (afterwards Edward I.) in 
Palestine, where he acquired great honour by his 
courage and conduct. In 1295, he was made governor 
of Carlisle Castle, and in that and succeeding years 
he had a summons to parliament among the English 
barons, under the title of Baron Bruce of Skelton. 
He would never acknowledge Baliol's title ; but being 
cajoled into the interest of King Edward, he contri- 
buted to the victory at Dunbar, and he was present 
with his son, though with less good will on their parts, 
at the battle of Falkirk in 1298. Camden in his 
Britannia has made a mistake in saying that this 
Robert Bruce married Martha daughter of Adam de 
Kilconath, Earl of Carrick, who died in the Holy 
Land, " whose only daughter," Camden says, " fell 
extremely in love with Robert Brus, a beautiful young 
gentleman, as she saw him hunting, thereupon she 



7 These two noble families bear for arms, " Or, a saltier and 
chief gules, on a canton argent, a lion rampant azure." The 
arms of the first Bruce were, " Argent, a lion rampant azure," 
and his son on his marriage with the heiress of Annand assumed 
the arms of her family, " Argent, a saltier and a chief gules." 
Glover in his MS. gives for " Sr. de Brews" Gules, a saltier or. 
p. 395. 



210 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

made him her husband, advanced him with the title of 
earl, and with possessions, unto whom she bare Robert 
Bruce that most renowned King of Scots." Both 
Nisbet and Sir James Balfour, excellent authorities in 
Scottish pedigrees, assert that Bruce married Marga- 
ret, widow of Adam de Kilconath, and daughter of 
Niel or Nigel, Earl of Carrick, whose father Duncan 8 
obtained that dignity in 1185, from William the Lion. 
Adam de Kilconath was Earl of Carrick, jure uxoris 
(and hence perhaps Camden's mistake), and Robert 
Bruce became so as the second husband of Margaret. 
This Robert Bruce did not take much interest in 
public affairs, and in 1293, had resigned his earldom to 
his eldest son, 1. Robert, and died in 1303, leaving 
four other sons ; 2. Edward, the brave partaker of his 
brother's labours in their country's cause, and who 
became King of Ireland, he died in 1318 ; 3. Nigel ; 
4. Thomas ; and 5, Alexander ; who also gallantly 
supported their eldest brother, and who were put to 
death by order of Edward I. One of the daughters, 
of whom there were seven, Christina Bruce, married 
first, the Earl of Mar ; secondly, the brave Sir Christo- 
pher Seaton, " the good Christal," who rescued the 
Bruce at the battle of Methven ; and thirdly, she 

8 Duncan's father was Gilbert, son of Fergus of Galloway. 
The arms of the Earl of Carrick were, " Argent, a chevron 

gules." NISBET. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 211 

married Sir Andrew Moray, the companion of Wallace, 
by whom she was mother of the famous Thomas Ran- 
dolph, Earl of Moray, who commanded the Scottish 
centre at Bannockburn, long one of Bruce's greatest 
leaders, and after his death, regent to his son David 
II. 

Robert the Bruce, second Earl of Carrick, in 
the early part of his life, gave little promise of that 
strength of mind and vigour of character which so 
distinguished him afterwards. A fierce hatred took 
place between him and the Red Comyn, Earl of 
Buchan, as rivals for the crown of Scotland, and this 
enmity was embittered by the grant of Annandale to 
Comyn by John Baliol. The Bruce showed great 
fickleness of purpose in his early career, now taking 
the oaths of allegiance to Edward I., and anon joining 
Wallace against him, again swearing fealty to that 
monarch, and then permitting himself to be joined in 
the Scottish commission of regency, and a third time 
received into the favour of the English king. When 
John Baliol resigned his empty title, Bruce is said to 
have proposed an arrangement to the Red Comyn, as 
their claims might be considered nearly equal, to the 
effect, that either Bruce should give up his patrimonial 
inheritance to Comyn and be supported by him as king, 
or that Bruce should take the possessions of Comyn 
and maintain the claim of the latter to the throne. 
Comyn, it is said, ostensibly embraced the alternative 



212 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

of taking Bruce's large property, and asserting that 
noble's title to the crown, but secretly resolved to 
betray him to Edward. The Earl of Gloucester, 9 
kinsman to Bruce, sent him a piece of money and a 
pair of spurs, upon which hint, he left the court of 
London and hastened to Scotland. In an interview 
which he had with his rival, in a church at Dumfries, 
high words arose between them, when Comyn gave 
Bruce the lie, who in return stabbed Comyn with his 
dagger, who was afterwards despatched by Kirkpatrick. 
The mask thus thrown off, Bruce resolved to assert 
the independence of Scotland, and his claim to the 
crown ; his first battle against the English was unfor- 
tunate, namely, at Methven, and at one time he was 
a prisoner in the hands of Sir Philip de Mowbray, 
who cried out that he had taken the new king ; Chris- 
topher Seaton struck Mowbray down and rescued 
Bruce. After this defeat, he had to wander from one 
retreat to another, and at one time obtained a refuge 
in the dominions of Angus, Lord of the Isles, head of 
the powerful clan of the Macdonalds, and descended 
from the renowned Somerled, whose daughter married 
an ancestor of Robert Bruce. The adventures of the 



9 This was Gilbert de Clare, the last earl of his family, whose 
sister and co-heir was Elizabeth, whose granddaughter, Eliza- 
beth de Burg, became the wife of Lionel, afterwards Duke of 
Clarence. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 213 

Scottish king during his retreat are described by the 
master hand of Sir Walter Scott, in his poem entitled 
" The Lord of the Isles." In 1307, the king's fortunes 
took a favourable turn ; at the battle of Loudon Hill 
he defeated his old enemy the Earl of Pembroke, and 
in many subsequent skirmishes gained great advantages, 
displaying the most daring acts of personal valour. 

Edward L, now in years, and wasting away with 
disease, began to fear that his darling object for the 
last twenty years was about to be snatched from him, 
after his vast expenditure of blood and treasure. Sud- 
denly rousing himself from his sick bed, he mounted 
his war horse, and proceeded northward to open a 
fresh campaign against the Scots ; but he lived only to 
reach the village of Burgh, and there died, July 7th, 
1307, having made his son swear to prosecute the war 
without truce or breathing space. 

King Robert Bruce had to fight long and strenu- 
ously in support of the crown bestowed upon him by 
his countrymen, who nobly seconded their patriotic 
leader's struggle for independence, which, begun under 
the influence of the immortal Wallace, was carried on 
by the heroic efforts of Douglas, Randolph, Seaton, 
Fraser, Stuart, Keith, and a host of warriors animated 
by the one impulse of wishing to rescue their beloved 
country from a tyrant. In the great victory of Ban- 
nockburn, 1314, gained by the Bruce over the disci- 
plined multitude of Edward II., the English chivalry 



214 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

suffered a tremendous defeat, 10 from the inferior and 
ill-armed troops of King Robert, whose judgment and 
skill made amends for his want of numbers. The con- 
tinued success of the Bruce and his brave captains 
gained a truce from England in 1323, for thirteen 
years, and in 1328 a treaty of peace was concluded 
between the two countries, and strengthened by a mar- 
riage agreed upon between the Princess Joanna, sister 
of Edward III., and David, the son of King Robert, 
both of tender years, which marriage afterwards took 
place. In 1315, the parliament of Scotland had settled 
the succession upon Edward Bruce, in default of male 
issue to his brother King Robert, and Edward or his 
issue failing, it was assured to the king's then only 
child Marjory, and her descendants. In 1318, in 
another parliament held at Scone, " Edward Bruce 
being dead, without heirs of his body, and Marjory, 
at that time the Bruce's only child, being also deceased, 
the infant prince Robert, son of the late princess and 
her husband the steward of Scotland, and grandson of 
Robert, was proclaimed heir, in default of male issue 
of the king's body."' 1 And in 1326, another parlia- 
ment confirmed this order of succession, in case of 

10 " ne'er the leopards on thy shield 
Retreated from so sad a field, 
Since Norman William came." 

Lord of the Isles, Canto vi. st. 35. 
11 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 215 

failure of Prince David or his heirs. " On the 7th of 
June, 1329, died Robert Bruce, at the almost prema- 
ture age of fifty-five. His personal accomplishments 
in war stood so high, that he was universally esteemed 
one of the three best knights of Europe during that 
martial age, 12 and gave many proofs of personal prowess. 
His achievements seem amply to vindicate this high 
estimation, since the three Highlanders slain in the 
retreat from Dairy, and Sir Henry de Bohun, killed 
by his hand in front of the English army, evince the 
valorous knight, as the plan of his campaigns exhibits 
the prudent and sagacious leader." 13 Bruce was buried 
at Dunfermline, having enjoined his well-tried com- 
panion in arms, the " good Lord James of Douglas," 
to carry his heart to the Holy Land, in redemption of 
a vow which he had made to go thither in person. 14 
The Douglas in fulfilment of his dying king's request, 

12 The two other knights so conspicuously ranked, were Henry 
of Luxemburg, emperor as Henry VII., father of John, King of 
Bohemia, slain at Crecy, and Sir Giles de Argentine, a knight 
of St. John of Jerusalem, who, after having greatly distinguished 
himself in Palestine, fell at Bannockburn fighting in the English 
ranks. This noble knight, having seen Edward II. in safety off 
the field, observed that " it was not his own wont to fly," and 
rushing back into the battle, was slain, according to his wish, 
with his face towards the enemy. — sir w. scott. Lord Hailes 
calls him " a hero of romance in real life." 

13 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

14 " I will ye charge, efter yat I depart, 

To holy grawe, and thair bury my hart; 



216 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

set out for Palestine with a noble suite, and landed in 
Spain, when learning that King Alphonso was waging 
war against the Moors, Douglas offered his services 
against the infidels. At the siege of Algeziras, the 
good lord James, in the heat of battle, took the Bruce's 
heart, enshrined in a golden case, from around his neck, 
and cast it into the midst of the enemy, exclaiming 
as Barbour has it, 

" Now pass thou forth hefore, 
As thou wast wont in fight to be, 
And I shall follow or else die." 

The noble Douglas fell overpowered by superior 
numbers ; but the precious heart was recovered by his 
followers, brought back to Scotland, and placed in 
Melrose Abbey. 15 

King Robert Bruce married first Isabel, daughter 
of Donald, Earl of Mar, 16 by whom he had Mar- 



Let it remane ever bothe time and howr, 
To ye last day I see my Saviour." 

Inscribed on the ancient Douglas' sword. 

15 The ancient arms of Douglas were, *' Azure, three stars 
argent, two and one;" and to commemorate the mission of the 
good Lord James, an honourable augmentation was granted, 
namely, " a man's heart gules royally crowned or," and this 
" bloody heart" has been the cognizance of all the branches of 
the House of Douglas ever since, and their motto " Forward," 
or *' Jamais arriere," in allusion to the circumstance recorded 
in the text, has been adopted by some of the family. 

16 " Dovenaldus Comes de Mar is that earl of the House of 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 217 

jory Bruce, who became the wife of the brave 
Walter the Steward of Scotland, and their son, 
after the death of David II., sat upon the throne of 
Scotland as Robert II., and first of the House of 
Stewart, which lineally occupied that throne until 
James VI., tenth in descent from the heroic Bruce, 
was called to fill the throne of England, as the direct 
male representative of those Edwards who had sought 
so long to subdue Scotland to be a province of her 
rival neighbour, now to be united to her in peaceful 
sisterhood. 

The second wife of King Robert Bruce was Mary, 
daughter of Aymer de Burg, 17 Earl of Ulster, by whom 
he was father of his successor on the throne, David 
II., who inherited the courage, but not the sagacity or 
prudence of his great parent ; at the battle of Neville's 
Cross, David sustained a severe defeat from the 
English northern barons, 1344, was made prisoner, 
and conveyed to London, where he remained a captive 
for eleven years. David II. died in 1371, at the age 
of forty-seven, having been king forty-two years ; 
when, leaving no issue either by Joanna of England, 



Mar that was called Gratnack or Gratney, the import of which 
I do not know." nisbet. 

17 King Robert's daughters by this marriage were, 1. Marga- 
ret, who married William, fourth Earl of Sutherland, from whom 
the present Duke of Sutherland is sixteenth in lineal descent ; 
2. Matilda; 3 Elizabeth, who married Sir Walter de Oliphant. 



218 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

or by his second wife Margaret Logie, the crown came 
to the family of Stewart in the person of his nephew 
Robert II. 

Before we continue the royal succession of the 
Stewarts, it will be necessary to pass to the considera- 
tion of their ancestry on the paternal side, more 
especially as, until the present century, it has not been 
correctly known. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 219 



CHAPTER XVII. 

" Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none." 

MACBETH. 

" The genealogy of the Stewart family, who now acceded to 
the throne of Scotland, has been the theme of many a fable. 
But their pedigree has by late antiquaries been distinctly 
traced to the great Anglo-Norman family of Fitz-Alan in Eng- 
land, no unworthy descent even for a race of monarchs." 

Sir Walter Scott, History of Scotland. 

The Pedigree of the Stewarts to King 
Robert II. 

ONE of the leading points of interest in the splen- 
did play of " Macbeth" turns upon the supposed 
descent of the royal House of Stuart from two of 
the characters, Bauquo and Fleance. It is for this, 
that the wierd sisters hail Banquo as 

" the root and father of many kings ;" 
for this, that Macbeth's 

"fears in Banquo stick deep," 
as the dreadful thought flashes upon him that 

(i for Banquo's issue has he fil'd his mind, 
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings !" 



220 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

it is for this, that Macbeth's sickly health must be 
made perfect in Banquo's death, and that Fleance his 
son 

" Must embrace the fate of that dark hour ;" 

for this, that the shadowy forms of kings pass before 
the seared eye-balls of the amazed Macbeth, and " the 
blood-boltered Banquo points at them for his ;" and 
lastly, it is for this that the poet, who lived in the 
reign of James I., did not make his presumed ancestor 
Banquo a participator in the murder of the " gracious 
Duncan," whereas, in the histories whence Shakspeare 
derived his version of the story, Banquo is made to be 
as guilty as Macbeth. Sir Walter Scott observes that 
" early authorities show us no such persons as Banquo 
and his son Fleance, nor have we reason to think that 
the latter ever fled further from Macbeth than across 
the flat scene according to the stage direction. Neither 
were Banquo and his son ancestors of the house of 
Stuart. All these things are now known ; but the 
mind retains pertinaciously the impression made by 
the impositions of genius." The immortal bard has 
only treated reputed facts as he found them, with the 
above reservation, and one can hardly wish to believe 
the tale otherwise than as he has told it in the most 
transcendent effort of human genius. But the fabulous 
descent from Banquo and Fleance has been repeated 
down to the present hour, and modern charts and 
recent " Peerages" still insist in making these shadowy 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 221 

personages figure among the progenitors of the royal 
line of Stuart, and consequently of Queen Victoria. 1 
But the indefatigable research of George Chalmers, 
the vindicator of Macbeth and his queen, has set this 
question at rest for ever. In his Caledonia, published 
in 1807, he thus derives the Stuarts. " Lord Hailes 
has succeeded in proving the various histories of the 
Stuarts, which give them Banquo and Fleance for 
ancestors, are nothing more than fabulous genealogies, 
without being able to determine when and what was 
the commencement of the family of the Stuarts. I 
propose to show upon the most satisfactory evidence, 
that Walter the son of Alan came from Shropshire in 
England, that he was the son of Alan, the son of 
Flaald, and the younger brother of William, the son of 
Alan, who was the progenitor of the famous house of 
Fitz-Alan, the Earls of Arundel. The great exploit 
of Walter the son of Alan, was the founding of the 
monastery of Paisley, during the reign of Malcolm IV., 
by transplanting a colony of Cluniac monks from the 
monastery of Wenlock in Shropshire. Such then was 



1 An exception must be made in favour of the new edition of 
Debrett's Peerage, by Mr. Collen, who has introduced the true 
ancestry of the Stuarts, and who bears testimony to the services 
of the author of " Caledonia." '? The origin of the royal House 
of Stewart is traced by the indefatigable researches of Chalmers 
to Alan Fitz-Fleald, a Norman companion of William the Con- 
queror." 



222 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the connection of Walter the first steward with Shrop- 
shire, with Wenlock, with Isabel de Say, who married 
William the brother of Walter. Alan, the son of 
Flaald, married a daughter of Warine, the famous 
sheriff of Shropshire, soon after the Norman Conquest, 
and of this marriage was the eldest son of Alan, and 
the undoubted heir both of Alan and Warine. Alan 
the son of Flaald acquired the manor of Oswestry in 
Shropshire soon after the Conquest ; Clun was added 
to the family by his son William, who built Clun 
Castle, and John Fitz-Alan, Lord of Clun and Os- 
westry by marrying Isabel, second daughter of William 
de Albeney, third Earl of Arundel, who died 1196, 
became Earl of Arundel. Richard Fitz-Alan, the 
Earl of Arundel, being with Edward III. in Scotland 
in 1335, and claiming to be steward of Scotland by 
hereditary right, sold his title and claim to Edward 
III., for 1000 marks (Edward obtained the confirma- 
tion of this purchase from Edward Baliol, so anxious 
was he to obtain this pretended title to the stewardship 
of Scotland). But Richard Fitz-Alan had no right to 
the stewardship of Scotland. Walter, who was the 
first purchaser of this hereditary office, was the younger 
brother of William, the son of Alan, the progenitor of 
Richard Fitz-Alan, the claimant, and till all the des- 
cendants of the first purchaser had failed, the claim 
could not ascend to the common father of the two 
families. Robert the Stewart, born of Marjory Bruce, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 223 

was then in possession of the hereditary office of 
Stewart by lineal descent." In the year 1798, " A 
Genealogical History of the Stewarts" was published 
by one of their descendants, Andrew Stuart, Esquire, 
M. P. ; but even he, interested in the enquiry, could 
not ascend higher than Walter, the son of Alan. 

It is, however, now admitted by competent autho- 
rities, that the first recognized ancestor of the Stuarts 
is Flaald, or Flathald, as he is called by some 
writers, who obtained from William the Conqueror, 
whom he had accompanied to England, the Castle of 
Oswaldestre, now Oswestry, and who left a son Alan, 
whose eldest son William was ancestor of the Fitz- 
alans of Arundel, and the second son, Walter, was 
made Lord High Steward or Seneschal to David I., 
" and the dignity becoming hereditary in the family, 
what was originally a title was converted into a sur- 
name, and employed as such." 2 The high office of 
this family was not of a civil nature only, it entitled 
the possessor to lead the armies of his king into battle. 
Walter, the first Steward, died in 1177. His wife, 
according to some authors, was a daughter of Alan, 
Lord of Britany, but others state that she was Es- 
china, the heiress of Moll ; he was, however, succeeded 
in his high office by his son Alan, the " Alanus 
Dapifer" alluded to by Sir Walter Scott, who died in 

2 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 
Q 



224 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

1204, leaving by his wife Eva, daughter of the Lord 
of Tippermuir, a son David ; another son Simon, who, 
according to Nisbet and Playfair, was father of Robert, 
ancestor of the Boyds, 3 which Robert, he says, is de- 
signed in the charters of Paisley, nephew to Walter, 
the son of Alan Dapifer, great steward of Scotland. 
Alan, the second Steward was succeeded by his eldest 
son Walter, who died in 1246 (Nisbet says in 1241), 
having married a daughter of the Earl of Angus, by 
whom he had Alexander, his successor ; John, who 
died 1249, without issue; Walter, who was Earl of 
Monteith ; and William. 

Alexander, fourth Steward, married Janet Mac 
Rudrie, heiress of Bute, by whom he was father 
of James, his successor; of the brave Sir John 



3 As the Boyds rank among the ancestors of Queen Victoria, 
some mention of them here may he deemed relevant. Simon's 
son Rohert, was father of Sir Robert Boyd, who distinguished 
himself at the battle of Largs in 1263, he died in 1270, and was 
succeeded by his son Sir Robert, who joined Sir William Wal- 
lace, and died about 1300 ; his son, also Sir Robert Boyd, was 
one of the first and firmest friends of King Robert Bruce, and 
died in the beginning of the reign of King David; he was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock, whose son 
Sir Thomas married the daughter and co-heir of Sir John Gifford, 
and by her had a son, Sir Thomas Boyd, whose wife was Janet, 

daughter of Montgomery of Ardrossan ; their son Sir Thomas 

was father of Sir Robert Boyd, Lord of Kilmarnock, created 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



225 



Stewart, killed at Falkirk, and called of Bonkill, 
from his marrying Margaret Bonkill, by whom 
he was a direet ancestor of Henry Darnley, father 
of King James, as will be shown hereafter ; and a 
daughter Elizabeth, who married Sir William 
Douglas, called the Hardy, by whom she was 
mother of the Bruce's friend, the good Lord James, 
and her third son Archibald was ancestor of the 
mother of Henry Darnley. Alexander died in 
1309, and was succeeded by his eldest son James, as 
fifth Steward, 4 who married Cecilia, daughter of 
Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and March, 5 by whom he 
was father of the brave Walter, the sixth Steward. 
At the battle of Bannockburn, Walter, though scarcely 
more than a boy, distinguished himself highly ; he had 



Lord Boyd, and Lord Great Chamberlain of Scotland ; he married 
Mariotta, daughter of Sir Robert Maxwell, and by her was 
father of Thomas Boyd, created Earl of Arran.who married the 
Princess Margaret, daughter of James II. of Scotland, and of a 
daughter Elizabeth, who married Earl Archibald Douglas, called 
" Bell-the-Cat," and their grandson Archibald, by his marriage 
with Margaret Tudor, was great grandfather of James I. of 
England. 

4 He had been one of the five guardians of the young Queen 
Margaret. 

5 There is good reason to believe that this nobleman was a 
direct descendant of Gospatric, Earl of Northumberland, whose 
mother was granddaughter of Ethelred II. 



226 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the guidance of the left wing of Bruce's army, aided 
by the greater experience of James Douglas. 6 In 
1315 he was married to the Princess Marjory Bruce, 
to the joy of the nation at large, and the son of this 
marriage sat on the throne as Robert II. Walter 
Stewart was one of his father-in-law's most active 
captains, and ably defended the frontiers of Scotland, 
When King Robert Bruce obtained possession of 
Berwick, he confided the charge of that important 
fortress to the Steward, who for a twelvemonth main- 
tained it against the whole force of Edward II., with 
the most chivalrous courage. On one occasion, the 
Steward had been going the rounds of the walls, dis- 
tributing succours, and " had disposed of all his attend- 
ants save one, when he suddenly received the alarming 
intelligence that the English were in the act of forcing 
the gate called Saint Mary's. The gallant knight, 
worthy to be what fate designed him, the father of a 
race of monarchs, 7 rushed to the spot, threw open the 
half-burned gate, and making a sudden sally, beat the 
enemy off from that as well as the other points of 
attack." 8 Walter also greatly distinguished himself 

6 " The dauntless Douglas these obey, 
And the young Stuart's gentle sway." 

Lord of the Isles, Canto vi. st. 12. 

7 " And well did Stewart's actions grace 
The sire of Scotland's royal race." 

Ibid. Canto vi. st. 25. 

8 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 227 

at the battle of Biland Abbey, where Edward II. was 
completely routed, and the Steward, with five hundred 
men at arms, pursued the English to the very walls of 
York, " and knight-like, as the phrase then was, abode 
there till evening, to see if any would issue to fight." 9 
After a short but active life, full of valiant deeds, 
Walter the Steward died in 1326, being about thirty- 
three years of age, and his office came by descent to his 
youthful son Robert, whose age did not prevent him 
from taking part in the stirring scenes which ensued. 

" The Steward had distinguished himself by his 
bravery and generosity of disposition. By universal 
approbation of the royalists this gallant and amiable 
young man was associated in the regency," 10 with 
Randolph, Earl of Moray ; and he became afterwards 
sole regent, and was successful in recovering the places 
taken by the English. When the young king, David 
II., having assumed the government, fought the battle 
of Neville's Cross, so disastrous to himself, the Steward 
commanded the left wing of the Scottish forces, and 
withdrew the remains of the routed army in tolerable 
order to Scotland; and he was again named Regent 
during David's captivity, and obtained a truce from 
Edward III. When the Scottish king returned from 
England, he disclosed to his astonished parliament a 
proposition which had been agreed upon between him- 

9 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. lfl Ibid. 



228 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

self and Edward III., namely, that Lionel of Clarence 
should be recognized as heir to the Scottish throne. 
The parliament indignantly replied, " that they would 
never permit an Englishman to rule over them ; that 
by solemn acts of settlement sworn to in parliament, 
the Steward of Scotland was called to the crown in 
default of the present king or his issue of his body ; 
that he was a brave man, and worthy of the succes- 
sion." 11 

After a long reign, presenting a melancholy contrast 
to that of his great father, David II. died in 1370-1, 
and the crown passed to his nephew, Robert the 
Steward of Scotland. 

The arms of Stewart are, " Or, a fess chequy of 
three tracts azure and argent," Glover, Nisbet, &c. 
granted in allusion to the honourable office of the 
family, a chess-board being the representation of a 
field of battle. Many noble Scottish houses of the 
present day bear this well known charge in allusion to 
their descent, in some way or other, from the House 
of Stewart. 1 ' 2 

11 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

12 Among the families of Stuart who now bear the blue and 
silver fess, may be named, the Marquess of Bute, the Earls of 
Galloway, Castle-Stuart, Moray, and Traqhuair, the Barons 
Blantyre, and Stuart de Rothesay, and the Stuarts, Baronets of 
Allanbauk, and of Hartly, the Sieuarts, Baronets of Allanton, 
and of Coltness, and the Stewarts, Baronets of Blackball aud of 
Grandtully. The Duke of Athol, and the Earl of Buchan, also 
quarter the Stuart arms by virtue of descent through females. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 229 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

" A Frenche queene shall beare the Sonne, 
Shall rule all Britane to the sea ; 
Which of the Bruce's blood shall come, 
As neere as in the ninth degree." 

OLD SCOTTISH PROPHECY. 

The Succession of the Stewarts, Kings of 
Scotland, to James VI. 

ROBERT II., first of the House of Stewart, 
was fifty-five years old when he came to the 
throne. He was twice married, first to Elizabeth 
Mure, daughter of Sir Adam Mure, knight of 
Rowallan, 1 by whom he had four sons and two daugh- 
ters; 1. John, Earl of Carrick, afterwards king under 
the name of Robert III. ; 2. Walter, Earl of Fife ; 
3. Robert, at first Earl of Monteith, afterwards Earl of 
Fife, but better known as the Regent, Duke of Al- 
bany ; 4. Alexander, Earl of Buchan ; 5. Jane, married 
first to Sir John Lyon, by her ancestor of the Earls 

1 Nisbet says, "the Muirs of Rowallan were a considerable 
family in the time of Alexander II., and still more eminent after 
in the reigns of the Bruces." They bore for arms, " Argent, on 
a fess azure three mullets or." nisbet and gwillim. 



230 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

of Strathmore, and secondly, to Sir James Sandilands, 
by her ancestor of the Lords Torpichen ; 6. Elizabeth, 
who married Sir Thomas Hay, by her ancestor of the 
Earls of Errol. Robert II. married secondly, Euphe- 
mia, daughter of the Earl of Ross, by whom he was 
father of two sons and four daughters ; 1. David, 
Earl of Caithness, or Stratherne ; 2. Walter, Earl of 
Athol ; 3. Marjory, who married John Dunbar, Earl 
of Moray ; 4. Euphemia, married to James, the power- 
ful Earl of Douglas ; 5. Isabel, who married Sir John 
Edmonstone; 2 6. Catherine, who married the brave 
Sir David Lyndsay, Earl of Crawfurd. Robert II. 
died in 1390, at the age of seventy-five, having reigned 
nineteen years. 

The successor to the throne was John, eldest son 
of Robert II., but the Scottish people having a super- 
stitious dread of a name which had belonged to un- 
fortunate monarchs of England, France, and Scot- 



2 Sir John Edmonstone (from whom the present Sir Archibald 
is thirteenth in lineal descent), is derived from Edmundus, a 
younger son of Count Egmont of Flanders, who is said to have 
accompanied Margaret, sister of Edgar the Atheling, to Scotland. 
— Nisbet. By a female branch, the Adairs are descended from 
tbe royal House of Stuart, Jean, second daughter of William 
Edmonstone (seventh from Sir John), having married Sir Robert 
Adair, who was created a knight by Cbarles L,and whose grand- 
son, Sir Robert, was made a knight banneret by William III., 
at the battle of. theBoyne; from bim tbe present Sir Robert 
Shafto Adair, baronet, is fourtb in descent. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 231 

land, 3 and being attached to the name of the Bruce, 
the new king assumed the style of Robert III. 
Infirm in body and mind, Robert left the cares of 
government to his brother, the wily and ambitious 
Albany, who for his own purposes fomented the 
quarrel between the king and his eldest son, David, 
Duke of Rothsay, who in 1401 was starved to death 
in prison, it is supposed by the instigation of his 
unnatural uncle. 4 The wife of Robert III. was the 
beautiful and accomplished Annabella Drummond, 
eldest daughter of Sir John Drummond, knight, of 
Stobhall, who was seventh in lineal descent from 
Maurice Drummond, captain of the ship 5 which car- 
ried Edgar the Atheling, and his sister, afterwards 
Queen Margaret, when storm-driven, to Scotland, and 
who obtained from Malcolm III. a barony in the shire 
of Dunbarton, and the Stewardship of Lenox. 6 The 

3 John of England died with a strong presumption of having 
been poisoned, besides having seen his kingdom invaded ; John 
of France, taken prisoner at Poictiers, died in captivity ; and 
John Baliol of Scotland, nicknamed Toom Tabard, or Empty 
Jacket, was little else than the shadow of a king. 

4 Sir Walter Scott, the Shakspeare of prose, who has taken 
up the chronicles of kings where the great poet left off, has in 
his " Fair Maid of Perth," drawn the characters of Robert III., 
Rothsay, and Albany, with a masterly hand ; it need hardly be 
said, perhaps, that the introduction of the fight between the 
clans Kay and Chattan is in strict accordance with history. 

5 According to John Abel, and John Leslie, bishop of Ross. 

6 The arms of Drummond (which are also borne by many of 



232 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

children of Robert and Annabella were David, as 
aforesaid, James, afterwards king, and three daugh- 
ters, 1. Mary, who was four times married, first to 
George Douglas, Earl of Angus, secondly, to Sir 
James Kennedy, ancestor of the Marquesses of Ailsa, 
thirdly, to Sir James Graham, ancestor of Lord 
Lynedoch, and fourthly, by a papal dispensation, to 
her first cousin Sir William Edmonstone, ancestor of 
the baronets of that name, of Duntreath ; 7 2. Marga- 
ret, married to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas ; 
3. Elizabeth, who married James Lord Dalkeith. 

In the reign of Robert III. was fought the famous 
battle of Homildon, or Holmedon, a. d. 1400. 



the name in the present day) were, " Or, three bars waved (or 
unde) gules." Gwillim, Nisbet, and Sir David Lyndsay. Van- 
bassan, a Danish writer, calls Maurice Drummond the son of 
George, youngest son of Andreas, King of Hungary, brother of 
that Solomon (or Stephen) whose court was for many years the 
refuge of the family of Edmund Ironside. The name and arms 
above quoted were granted in consequence of the skill of Maurice 
in guiding his ship with its noble freight in safety through the 
storm. (Sir George Mackenzie). Drummond of Hawthornden, 
the poet, and one of this family, states that drum signifies, in 
old Scots, " high," and und or ond, a " wave." 

7 Their son, Sir William, formed a third alliance with the 
royal House of Stuart, having married Matilda, daughter of Lord 
James Stuart, son of the regent Murdach, Duke of Albany, 
grandson of Robert II. For these multiplied alliances, the 
Edmonstones bear their three crescents surrounded by the royal 
treasure of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 233 

" On Holyrood day, the gallant Hotspur there, 
Young- Harry Percy, and brave Archibald, 
That ever-valiant and approved Scot, 
At Holmedon met. 

Of prisoners, Hotspur took 
Mordake, the Earl of Fife, 8 and eldest son 
To beaten Douglas; and the Earls of Athol, 
Of Murray, Angus, and Mouteith." 9 

The refusal of Hotspur to give up his prisoners to 
Henry IV., led to the quarrel of the House of Percy 
with the king-, whose greatness their own hands had 
helped to build up. 

In 1405, the young Prince James, then eleven years 
old, was embarked for France, in order to be there 
educated, but on his voyage he was taken by an 
English corsair, and delivered up to Henry IV., 
and although a truce subsisted at the time between 
England and Scotland, the young prince was detained 
by Henry, who sarcastically remarked, "In fact the 
Scots ought to have given me the education of this 
boy, for I am an excellent French scholar." 

Robert III. did not long survive this heavy blow, 
and died in 1406, at an advanced age. 



8 This was Murdach, son of the regent Albany, who succeeded 
his father both as duke aud regent, during the captivity of 
James I. The Earl of Douglas was taken prisoner by Hotspur 
at Holmedon. 

9 First Part of K. Henry IV. Act i. sc. 1. 



234 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

James, first of that name, King of Scotland, re- 
mained a captive in England for nineteen years, 11 
when he was set free, in 1424, upon the agreement of 
a ransom of forty thousand pounds sterling, and of his 
marrying an English lady of rank, when his choice 
fell upon the Lady Joanna Beaufort, daughter of 
John, Earl of Somerset, the legitimated son of 
John of Gaunt, whom he had by Catherine Swyn- 
ford. James had received an excellent education, and 
" he was, according to the learning of the day, an 
accomplished scholar, an excellent poet, a musician of 
skill, with a decided taste for the fine arts of architec- 
ture, painting, and horticulture." 12 

James I., whose chivalric accomplishments and per- 
sonal courage were of the highest order, embroiled 
himself with his haughty barons, whose power he 



11 James I. was placed under the custody of Sir John Pelham, 
one of the executors of Henry the Fourth's will, and son of that 
Sir John Pelham, who distinguished himself at the battle of 
Poictiers, and who claimed the honour of taking the French 
King John prisoner, for which service he had granted to him as 
an heraldic badge, the buckle of a belt, and his descendants have 
since borne " two buckles or, on a field gules ;" he was ancestor 
of the present Earl of Chichester. Shirley, in his play of 
Edward the Black Prince, introduces this honourable exploit: 

" Your valiant swordsman, Sir John Pelham, sends 
This royal trophy to adorn your triumph." 

Act v. sc. 5. 

12 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 235 

sought to reduce, and he arrested several of the most 
powerful nobles, friends and connexions of the Albany 
family, whom he wished to bring to justice. Many 
of these were executed, and from one of them, spared 
at the time, Sir Robert Grahame, the king met his 
death, in 1437. 

By his Queen Joanna, James I. had two sons, one 
of whom died young, the other was his successor 
James II. ; and five daughters, of whom the eldest, 
Margaret, married the subtle Louis XI. of France ; 
second, Isabel, married Francis, Duke of Britany; 
the third, Eleanor, became the wife of Sigismund, 
Archduke of Austria ; the fourth, Mary, married the 
Lord of Campvere ; and the youngest Joanna, wedded 
James, third Earl of Angus. The year after the 
death of the king, his widow married Sir James 
Stewart, commonly called the Black Knight of Lorn ; 
Joanna died about 1446. 

The early part of the reign of James II. was ren- 
dered memorable by the feuds between Crichton and 
Livingston, the rivals for political power, and for the 
increasing influence of the great House of Douglas, 
which threatened to shake the very throne to its 
foundations. The death of the Earl of Douglas, head 
of that proud family, slain by the hand of the king 
himself, brought about a contest between the royal 
authority and the partisans of the Douglas, but the 
fortunes of the Stewarts prevailed over those of their 



236 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

great rival, and the once formidable House of Douglas 
fell for ever. James II. waged war against England, 
and in 1460 laid siege to Roxburgh, when, standing 
close to one of his rude pieces of artillery, he was 
killed by its bursting, in the twenty-ninth year of his 
age, and the twenty-fourth of his reign. By his con- 
sort, Mary, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guel- 
dres, 13 with whom Philip, Duke of Burgundy, her 
kinsman, gave a portion of sixty thousand golden 
crowns ; James II. left three sons, James, his suc- 
cessor, Alexander, Duke of Albany, and John, Earl 
of Mar ; and two daughters, Mary, who married first 
Sir Thomas Boyd, created Earl of Arran, and secondly, 
James, first Lord Hamilton, upon whose son the earl- 
dom of Arran was bestowed on the disgrace of the 
Boyds ; l4 the other daughter was Margaret, who 
married William, third Lord Crichton, the chan- 
cellor. 

James III. succeeded his father whilst quite an 
infant; in the early part of his reign Scotland was 
free from war with the English, then busily engaged 
in the contention of the Red and White Roses, and 



13 The arms borne by the Dukes of Gueldres were, " Azure, 
a lion rampant queue forche or, crowned proper." heylin. 

14 This Earl of Arran was next heir to the Scottish throne 
during the minority of Mary, Queen of Scots, to whom he was 
regent: he was afterwards created Duke of Chatelherault, by 
Henry II. of France. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 237 

Henry VI. sought refuge for a time in Scotland, to 
which Shakspeare alludes : 

" Mount you, my lord, towards Berwick post amain." 15 



" From Scotland am I stol'n, even of pure love, 
To greet mine own land with my wishful sight." 16 

James III. lowered his character by admitting to 
his confidence, and making the associates of his plea- 
sures, men of ignoble birth, whom he advanced to 
rank and honours, to the scandal of the high-born 
and haughty nobles. The insolence of one of these 
favourites, Cochrane, brought about his punishment 
in the way which procured for the chief actor in his 
death, Archibald, Earl of Angus, his well known 
appellation of " Bell-the-Cat." In a league formed 
by the discontented nobles against the royal authority, 
and in which the name of the heir apparent was mixed 
up, 17 the two parties came to extremities, and the 
king's forces were routed and himself slain, 1488. 
By his queen Margaret, daughter of Christian I. 
King of Denmark, James III. left three sons, of whom 
the eldest was his successor James IV. 



15 3 Part K. Henry VI. Act ii. sc. 5. 

16 Ibid. Act iii. sc. 1. 

17 " Woe to the traitors who could bring 
The princely boy against his king ! 
Still in his conscience burns the sting." 

MARMION. 



238 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

The readers of " Marmion," must be familiar with 
the character of the gay, the chivalrous, the unfortu- 
nate James IV. 

" Well loved that splendid monarch aye 

The hanquet and the song, 
By day the tourney, and by night 
The merry dance, traced fast and light, 
The masquers quaint, the pageant bright, 

The revel loud and long." 

Yet amidst his mirth the recollection of his father's 
death would come over him, 

" If, in a sudden turn, he felt 

The pressure of his iron belt, 

That bound his breast in penance pain, 

In memory of his father slain." 

" Nothing delighted him so much as jousts and 
tournaments, and trials of skill at all military weapons ; 
and he sought personal adventures by traversing the 
country in disguise, and throwing himself into situations 
which have been recorded in the songs and traditions 
of the time." 18 

During the reign of Henry VII., Perkin Warbeck, 
who pretended to be Richard Plantagenet, Duke of 
York, son of Edward IV., who, it was asserted, had 
escaped from the Tower, found refuge at the court of 
the Scottish king : 

18 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 239 

" James backed the cause of that mock prince, 
Warbeck, that Flemish counterfeit, 
Who on the gibbet paid the cheat ;" 19 

to whom James, believing the truth of his story, gave 
his relative in marriage, the amiable Lady Catherine 
Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntley. 

In 1503-4 James IV. was married, with circum- 
stances of great splendour, to the Princess Margaret 
Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII. and Eliza- 
beth of York, an alliance fraught with the greatest 
consequences in after time, since it gave in the third 
descent a monarch to the two kingdoms in the person 
of James VI. 20 In the treaty of peace which accom- 
panied this marriage, Scotland renounced for the 
future her right to the town of Berwick upon Tweed, 
which figures so conspicuously in the wars of the two 
kingdoms, and which to the present day is specially 
named in all important public documents. 21 By his 
queen Margaret, James IV. left a namesake, who 
succeeded him, and a son Alexander, a posthumous 
child, who died very young. 

19 Marmion. 

20 « When this marriage was deliberated on in the English 
council, some objected that England might by means of that 
alliance, fall under the dominion of Scotland. ' No,' replied 
Henry, ' Scotland in that event will only become an accession 
to England/ " hume. 

21 Berwick was made a county as well as town, independent 
of the two countries. 



240 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

When Henry VIII. mounted the throne of England, 
several causes of quarrel arose between him and his 
brother-in-law, and James assembling a gallant army, 
marched into England, and encountered the Earl of 
Surrey 22 at 

" Flodden's fatal field, 
Where shivered was fair Scotland's spear, 
And broken was her shield. 



There, Scotland ! lay thy bravest pride, 
Chiefs, knights, and nobles, many a one." 23 

The Scottish king, whose valour was of a most 
romantic kind, had allowed the English to gain an 
important position without checking them, and dis- 
daining to survive the fortunes of that disastrous day, 
perished with the flower of his kingdom : 

" He saw the wreck his rashness wrought; 
Reckless of life, he desperate fought, 

And fell on Flodden plain. 
And well in death his trusty brand, 
Firm clenched within his manly hand, 

Beseemed the monarch slain." 24 



22 For the eminent services of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, 
at Flodden, " the king freely granted unto him that he and his 
posteritie (in token of that victorie) should bear for an increase 
of his armes, in the midst of the bend of his ancient armes of 
the Howards, the halfe of the upper part of a red lyon, with an 
arrow shot in his mouth, in the lesser shield or escutcheon, 
compassed with a double red traile of gold." glover. 

23 Marmion. 24 Ibid. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 241 

The battle of Flodden is the most disastrous in the 
annals of Scotland ; " twelve Scottish earls, thirteen 
lords, and five eldest sons of peers, fifty chiefs, knights, 
and men of eminence, and about ten thousand common 
men," 25 were among the slain. " Scarce a family of 
eminence but has an ancestor killed at Flodden ; and 
there is no province in Scotland, even at this day, 
where the battle is mentioned without a sensation of 
terror and sorrow." 26 

The Queen Dowager, Margaret, within a year 
after the death of her royal husband, married Archi- 
bald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus, grandson of 
" Bell-the-Cat" and from this union a daughter, 
Margaret, 27 was born 1515, who became the wife 



25 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 

26 Sir Walter Scott, note to Marmion. 

27 Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lenox, died March 15th, 
1577, having had four sons and four daughters ; she was huried 
in the splendid chapel tomb of her grandfather, with this in- 
scription : 

Margareta potens virtute, potentior ortu, 
Regibus ac proavis nobilitate suis. 

On the north side of her tomb was inserted this proud record 
of her alliance with kings : 

" This Ladye had to her Great Grandfather, K. Edward the 4, 
to her Grandfather, K. Henry the 7, to her Uncle, K. Henry, the 
8, to her cousin Germane, K. Edward the 6, to her brother, 
K. James of Scotland the 5, to her son, Kinge Henry the first, 
and to her Grandchild, Kinge James the 6." 



242 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

of Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lenox, and by him 
mother of Henry, Lord Darnley, who by Mary, 
Queen of Scots, his cousin, was father of James VI. 

The minority of James V. was disturbed by the 
dissensions of the great houses of Hamilton and 
Douglas, rivals for political power, which convulsed 
the kingdom until the young James assumed the reins 
of government. Henry VIII. hoped to bind his nephew 
the Scottish king to his own views of religion and 
politics by offering him his daughter Mary in marriage, 
but James, who preferred the friendship of France, 
selected his queen from that nation, and married, 1536, 
Magdalen, daughter of Francis I. King of France, 
who, however, only lived two months after her union. 
The second queen of James V. was Mary of Guise, 
daughter of Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Guise, 
by Antoinette de Bourbon. Mary of Guise bore her 
husband two sons, who died in early infancy, 1541, 
and one daughter, born seven days before her father's 
death, Mary, the celebrated Queen of Scots. 28 

The character of James V. ranks high among the 



28 James V., by the Lady Margaret Erskine, afterwards the 
wife of Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven, and gaoler of Queen 
Mary, had several natural children, among whom were the lords 
James, John, and Robert Stuart, Earl of Orkney, and Jane, who 
married the Earl of Argyle. The Lord James is the famous 
Murray, regent of Scotland, who fills so large a space in the 
history of his country. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 243 

sovereigns of Scotland. With a handsome person, 
he possessed the courage and much of the romantic 
valour of his father, was himself a poet, 29 and encou- 
raged "the makers" of the gay science to resort to 
his court. He was liberal in his encouragement of 
the arts, and, like many of his predecessors, a patron 
of architecture; he rebuilded or repaired the royal 
palaces of Linlithgow, 39 Stirling, and Falkland. Drawn 
into a war with England, James found himself deserted 
in the hour of need by his nobles, whose affections he 
had never sought to conciliate, and who actually suffered 
themselves to be defeated almost without a show of 
resistance. The Scottish king's high spirit could not 
brook the dishonour upon his name, and he died 
broken-hearted, December 14th, 1542, seven days 
after the queen was delivered of her third child Mary. 
Upon being told of the birth of a daughter, the dying 
king exclaimed, in allusion to the crown having been 
brought into his family by Marjory Bruce, " It came 
with a lass, and it will go with a lass." 31 



29 "Christ's Kirk on the Green" was written by James V., 
and also the " Gaberlunzie Man,*' and the " Jolly Beggar." 
30 " Of all the palaces so fair 

Built for the royal dwelling, 
In Scotland, far beyond compare 
Linlithgow is excelling." marmion. 
31 James V. is the " Fitz-James, or knight of Snawdon," of 
Sir Walter Scott's " Lady of the Lake," and was the hero of 



244 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

The life, character, and reign of the beautiful, 
accomplished, and unfortunate Mary Stuart, Queen 
of Scots, are tinged with romance, and clouded by 
doubt ; and probably of no other person that ever 
lived, have so many and such conflicting statements 
been written. On one side are ranged those persons 
who were opposed to her in religious and political 
feeling, headed by the strong-minded but ferocious 
Knox, whose contempt for the sex of his sovereign he 
strove not to conceal, any more than his bitter hatred 
of the Guises. Among the partisans of Mary Stuart 
are to be found many good and honoured names, who, 
admitting her follies, hesitate to believe her guilty of 
crimes. 32 It is possible that the real truth never will 
be arrived at in this world, of how far she was con- 
cerned in the leading accusation against her, Darnley's 
murder. Let us fain charitably hope with the last 



many romantic adventures among his people, by whom he was 
much liked, and by them called " King of the Commons." In 
1540 James V. instituted the Order of the Thistle, or the " Bur" 
as he called it, for native nobles of Scotland, one ribbon being- 
reserved for a prince of the blood, and two others for noblemen 
of England. St. Andrew is patron Saint of this order. 

32 On the side of Mary's accusers may be named, John Knox, 
George Buchanan, David Hume, William Robertson, Malcolm 
Laing, formidable names, it must be admitted ; amongst her 
vindicators are found, Lesley, the bishop of Ross, Heywood, 
Freebairn, Goodhall, Whittaker, George Chalmers, Fraser 
Tytler, a host in himself, and Mr. Bell. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 245 

champion who has entered the lists in her behalf, 33 
that she was clear of any participation in that foul 
deed, and believe that the fact of her marrying Both- 
well, which tells so much against her, arose from 
circumstances of the most appalling nature, against 
which she could not contend. 

Whilst Mary was in her cradle, Henry VIII. of 
England, in imitation of the policy of Edward I., 
sought to obtain her hand for his son, afterwards 
Edward VI., and through the influence of the regent, 
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, the next heir to the 
Scottish throne, obtained a treaty of marriage between 
the royal infants, which was however almost imme- 
diately broken off through the intrigues of the queen 
mother and Cardinal Beaton, who were in favour of a 
French alliance, from previous family connexions and 
similarity of religion. Accordingly, the young queen 
was affianced to the Dauphin of France, son of Henry 
II., afterwards King as Francis II., and Mary was 
sent to receive her education in the country of her 
future husband, to whom she was united in 1558. 34 

33 Life of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Henry Glassford Bell, 
Esq., in which interesting work the chivalrous spirit of the 
author has led him to bring forward many very strong proofs 
and presumptions in favour of Mary Stuart. 

34 The French writers speak in terms of rapture of Mary 
Stuart's beauty ; Castelnau calls her " the most beautiful and 
accomplished of her sex ;" Mezeray says, " Nature had bestowed 



246 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Shortly after this marriage, in the same year, Mary 
Tudor, Queen of England, died, and the partisans of 
Mary Stuart made a claim to the throne of that 
country for her, founding it upon the fact of Henry 
VIII. having declared his children by Catherine of 
Aragon and Anne Boleyn illegitimate. 35 The Dau- 
phin and Mary Stuart assumed the arms and the style 
of King and Queen of England. 36 In 1559, Henry II. 
died from a wound received at a tournament from the 
Lord Montgomery, and Mary Stuart, by her husband's 
succession, became Queen of France as well as of 
Scotland. The death of Francis II., however, in the 
following year, without issue, left her a widow at the 
age of eighteen. In 1561 "the widowed queen of 
France took a lingering and painful farewell of the 
fair country over which she had so lately reigned with 



upon her every thing that is necessary to form a complete 
heauty ;" and Brantome asserts that " no one ever saw her who 
did not lose his heart to her." 

35 John Lesley, the celebrated bishop of Ross, in 1571 pub- 
lished " A Treatise of the Honour of the most high and mighty 
Princesse Marie, now Queene of Scotland, with a declaration of 
her right, title and interest to the crown of England." This 
was answered by our famous herald, Robert Glover, in a work 
which Sir William Dugdale considered his best performance. 

36 This assumption was the chief cause of Elizabeth Tudor's 
bitter enmity ; but the Dauphin significantly wished to know by 
what right the English queen quartered the lilies of France in 
her shield. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 247 

expressions of the deepest sorrow;" 37 and after an 
absence of thirteen years, arrived in her native country, 
wherein great and important changes had been brought 
about by the Reformation, which had made rapid strides 
of late, and with the principles of which Mary's own 
religious tenets were destined fearfully to clash. It 
could not be supposed that one so young, beautiful, 
and exalted in rank, would be long without suitors, 
among whom were many foreign princes of high rank, 
as well as nobly descended natives. Queen Elizabeth, 
who constantly affected an interest in her cousin's 
welfare, even offered her the choice of an English 
husband, in her own favourite Leicester, a proposal 
which, it may reasonably be inferred, was not made in 
sincerity. But Mary made her own election, which 
fell upon her first cousin, the handsome and accom- 
plished Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, son of 
Matthew Stuart, fourth Earl of Lenox, descended, 
through Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, from the Lord 
High Stewards of Scotland, and by his great grand- 
mother from James II. The mother of Lord Darnley 
was the Lady Margaret Douglas, granddaughter 
of Henry VII., by the second marriage of his eldest 
daughter Margaret, Queen Dowager of James IV., 
with Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. The 
Lady Margaret Douglas, or Countess of Lenox, was 

37 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 



248 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

considered to have as good a claim to the throne of 
England, failing the issue of Henry VIII., as Mary 
Stuart, the union of whom with her son promised to 
cement still more closely the proximate claims of the 
Stuarts to the English throne. The marriage took 
place July 29th, 1565, a dispensation having been 
obtained from the pope, and the ceremonial being per- 
formed after the forms of the Roman Catholic ritual. 
At their union Darnley was declared king of Scotland. 38 
This marriage, formed under such apparently auspi- 
cious circumstances, was not destined to be happy to 
either party; a short time sufficed to make Mary, 
deceived by a graceful exterior unsupported by solid 
acquirements, " blush for her unhappy choice of a 
dissolute, disrespectful boy, of loose habits and un- 
governable temper, to be her partner on such a throne 
as that of Scotland." 39 Darnley, who had been indebted 
to Rizzio for the advancement of his suit with Mary, 
conceived an unfounded jealousy of that ill-fated 
foreigner, and prompted by revenge, entered into the 
plot which ended in the Italian's murder, under cir- 
cumstances which must have tended to revolt Mary 
still more from her ill-judging husband. On the 19th 



38 After the marriage of Mary Stuart with Henry Darnley, 
the coins of the realm bore the inscription, " Maria et Henricus, 
Dei Gratia Regina et Rex Scotorum." 

39 Sir Walter Scott, Hist, of Scotland. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 249 

of June, 1566, a son was born to Mary, who as 
James VI. ascended the Scottish throne, and who 
sat on that of England as James I. On the 9th of 
February, 1567, the mysterious death of Henry Darn- 
ley occurred, certainly through the agency of the 
infamous Earl of Bothwell, 40 and, as some would have 
it believed, with the connivance or fore-knowledge of 
Queen Mary, an opinion which her hasty marriage 
with Bothwell (May 15th, 1567,) was not calculated 
to soften. In the . subsequent contest between the 
royal authority and a great part of the nation, Mary 
was compelled to resign her kingdom in favour of her 
infant son, with her ambitious brother Murray for 
regent, and after making a fruitless effort to regain 
her lost power, fled after the disastrous battle of Lang- 
side into England, to throw herself upon the protection 
of her rival Elizabeth, who repaid her ill-placed confi- 
dence by imprisonment, indignities, and death. After 
having been for eighteen years a prisoner, Mary 
Stuart, the descendant of a hundred kings, who had 
herself been crowned in two kingdoms, fell by the 
hands of a common executioner, 41 because her title 
to a third throne was felt to be dangerous to its 



10 Recent investigation has brought to light some facts, by 
which it would appear that John Knox is somewhat implicated 
with the actors in the death of Henry Darnley. 

41 " Thus died Mary, Queen of Scots, in the nineteenth year 



250 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

occupier. 42 She was in her forty-fifth year, when, to 
use her own words, " an end was put to her tedious 
pilgrimage," February 8th, 1587. Mary's son had 
made remonstrances to Elizabeth, which, as may be 
supposed, were little heeded, and when Sir Robert 
Melville besought some delay in the execution, he 
was met by the stern reply of the vindictive queen, 
" No, not an hour." 43 



of her captivity, and forty-fifth of her age, having redeemed by 
the wrongs and sufferings of her life, and the heroism of her 
death, her frailties, and, if she committed it, her single crime." 

SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. 

42 " Gray took the opportunity to ask why the Queen of Scots 
should be esteemed so dangerous to her majesty ? ' Because/ 
answered Elizabeth hastily, ' she is a papist, and they say she 
shall succeed to my throne."' sir w. scott. 

i3 Sir W. Scott. 






AND PRINCE ALBERT. 251 



CHAPTER XIX. 

" King James, as only representer and righteous heir of the 
royal line of England, with an universal consent and joy ascended 
the throne of England." msbet. 

The Lineal Descent of Queen ViCTORiAyrom 
James I. 

WHEN Queen Elizabeth was on her death bed, 
1603, and questioned respecting the succes- 
sion, her reply was that she would have a king for 
her heir, and when further asked who that should be, 
" Who but my cousin, the King of Scots ?" James, 
sixth of that name in Scotland, and first in England, 
had reigned in the former kingdom for thirty-six 
years, when called to fill the throne of her once great 
rival. 1 In his person centred the blood of the Saxon 



1 James I. assumed the style of King of Great Britain, to 
avoid exciting jealousy by giving the precedence either to Eng- 
land or Scotland in the royal title, hut the legal union did not 
take place till the time of Queen Anne, May 1, 1707, when by 
the act of parliament then passed, Scotland was to be represented 
in the Upper House by sixteen peers, and in the Commons by 
forty-five members. 



252 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

kings by a double descent, of the Plantagenets in 
its varied branches, of the House of Tudor, besides 
the rich currents of his more native royal houses of 
Bruce and Stuart. 2 Distracted as England had 
been almost ever since the Conquest with rival claims 
upon the throne, it is not surprising that she should 
welcome the accession of a prince in whom so many 
family interests were united, whilst Scotland was as 
much pleased to give a king to that nation which had 
so often attempted to impose one upon herself. 3 James 
I., in 1590, married Anne of Denmark, daughter 
of Frederick II., by Sophia of Mecklenburg, 
and by her had three sons and four daughters, viz. 
1. Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, born 1594, a 
prince of the greatest promise, who died in 1612, to 
the grief of the nation which loved him ; 2. Robert, 
who died young ; 3. Charles, Prince of Wales, born 
1600, afterwards king; 4. Elizabeth, born August 
19th, 1596, married in 1613, to the Elector Pala- 



2 la 1604, the Rev. George Owen Harry published "the 
Genealogy of King James I., with his lineal descent from 
Noah." 

3 The Lady Arabella Stuart (who died in 1615 after four 
years' confinement in the Tower), whose claim to the throne of 
England was attempted to be set up against that of James I., was 
the daughter of Charles Stuart, youngest brother to HeDry Lord 
Darnley ; she stood therefore in the same relationship to Henry 
VII. as did King James ; and her husband was William Seymour, 
grandson of Catherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 253 

tine, 4 by whom she became ancestress of the reigning 
family of England, and of whom presently ; 5. Mary, 
born 1605, died 1607 ; 7. Sophia, born and died 1606. 
If the discovery of the " Gunpowder Plot" was reck- 
oned a great proof of King James' sagacity, his treat- 
ment of Raleigh was an instance of unworthily sacri- 
ficing a brave man to the fear of foreign influence, 
whilst his favour shewn to Villiers, Duke of Bucking- 
ham, led the way to the convulsions which brought 
such bitter ruin upon his family. James I. died March 
27th, 1625, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the 
twenty-second of his reign over England. 5 His con- 
sort Anne, who died in 1618, had some pretensions to 
beauty and ability ; she was fond of amusements and 
dress, and the pageantries of those days, in which she 
herself sometimes bore a part. 



4 The arms of the Elector Palatine were borne, " tripartite, 
first, sable, a lion rampant crowned or, langed and armed gules, 
for the Palatinate ; second, fusilly bendy, argent and azure, of 
twenty-one pieces, for Bavaria; and third (in base), a globe 
surmounted by a cross crosslet, for the Electorate." From an 
old French work containing the arms of the Knights of the 
Garter ; and also from Edmondson. 

5 Tieck, the great German critic, fancies that Shakspeare in- 
tended a compliment to James L, when he makes Timon of 
Athens proclaim that he knows 

" One honest man, — mistake me not, — but one : 
No more, I pray, — and he is a Steward." 

Act iv. sc. 3. 



254 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Charles I., the second Stuart upon the English 
throne, succeeded his father in his twenty-fifth year, 
at which time he married Henrietta Maria, daughter 
of the great Henri Quatre, and the celebrated Mary 
de Medicis, by whom he had a son, Charles, born and 
died in 1628 ; a second Charles, afterwards king, born 
1630 ; 3. James, Duke of York, born 1633, afterwards 
king; 4. Henry, born 1640, Duke of Gloucester, who 
died 1660 ; 5. Mary, born 1631, married in 1648, to 
William of Nassau, whose son William was called to 
share the throne of England with his consort Mary, 
daughter of James II.; 6. Elizabeth; 7. Anne; 6 8. 
Henrietta, born 1644, who married Philip, Duke of 
Orleans. 7 The baneful influence of the Duke of 
Buckingham was productive of great evil in this reign, 
as it brought about also his own violent death. The 



6 The Princess Anne was born in 1637, and died when about 
four years old. Fuller relates a pleasing anecdote respecting 
her. " Being minded by those about her to call upon God even 
when the pangs of death were upon her, ' I am not able,' saith 
she, ' to say my long prayer (meaning the Lord's prayer), but 1 
will say my short one, Lighten mine eyes, O Lord, lest I sleep 
the sleep of death.' This done, the little lamb gave up the 
ghost." Fuller's Worthies, Vol. 2. 

7 From the eldest daughter of this alliance, Mary Anne, mar- 
ried to Victor Amadeus II. , King of Sardinia, springs the House 
of Savoy, and Mary, their eldest daughter, married the father 
of Louis XV., King of France ; and Louisa, another daughter, 
became the wife of Philip V., King of Spain. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 255 

collision between the king- and his parliament led to 
the civil war, in which one of the most extraordinary 
men that ever lived, Oliver Cromwell, 8 came upon the 
scene, to whose active courage, and military talents, 
the success of the parliamentary party is chiefly to be 
attributed ; a success, the result of which was a spec- 
tacle hitherto unseen in Europe, the public execution 
of an anointed king, the suspension of the kingly 
power for the first time since England was a nation, 
and the setting up of a daring soldier in the seat of 
power, with a king's authority, though veiled under 
the specious name of Protector. 9 On the 30th of 



8 Oliver Cromwell's mother was Elizabeth Stuart, a lineal 
descendant of Alexander, son of Alexander the sixth Lord High 
Steward, the progenitor of Charles I. 

9 In Peck's "Desiderata Curiosa," we find a remarkable cha- 
racter of the Protector, extracted from the books of Sidney Sussex 
College, Cambridge, of which he was a member; the fact was 
communicated by Dr. William Warren. 

"E registro coll. Syd. Suss. Camb. 
"Oliverus Cromwell Huntingdoniensis ad commentum so- 
ciorum, Aprilis vicesimo tertio 1616. Tutore M ro . Richardo 
Howlet." 

[Between this entry and the next, is crowded in, in a smaller 
hand or letter, the underwritten character~\. 

" Hie fuit grandis ille impostor, carnifex perditissimus, qui, 
pientissimo rege Carolo 1°. nefaria ccede sublato, ipsum usurpa- 
vit thronum, et tria regna, per quinq. ferme annorum spatium, 
sub Protectoris nomine indomita tyrannide vexavit." 

Liber VII. Num. xxi. p. 291. 
S 



/ 

V 

256 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

January, 1649, Charles I. stepped forth from a window 
of his own palace of Whitehall upon the scaffold to 
meet his death from a similar instrument to that by 
which his grandmother, Mary Stuart, had been released 
from her sufferings. 

For nine years the heir to the throne was kept out 
of his rightful inheritance, during which time it must 
be confessed that Cromwell's foreign policy made the 
English name to be respected, and " kept foreigners 
from fooling us." After the death of that " immortal 
rebel," September 3rd, 1658, the anniversary of his 
"crowning mercies," 10 the son of "the martyr" as- 
cended the throne as Charles II., whose character is 
comprised in the lines of one of his profligate favour- 
ites, 11 

" He never said a foolish thing, 

Nor ever did a wise one." 

The great Plague in 1665, and the great Fire in 
1666, distinguish this from preceding reigns in national 

10 Cromwell gained the battle of Worcester on the 3rd of 
September, 1651, aud the equally important battle of Dunbar 
on that day twelvemonth prior ; to this Lord Byron alludes, 

" His day of double victory and death 
Beheld him win two realms, and happier, yield his breath. 
The third of the same moon whose former course 
Had all but crown'd him, on the selfsame day 
Deposed him gently from his throne of force, 
And laid him with the earth's preceding clay." 

Childe Harold, C. iv. S. 86. 

11 Rochester. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. *257 

calamity. To the latter event, however, we are in- 
debted for Sir Christopher Wren's embellishments of 
the metropolis. By his queen, Catherine of Portugal, 12 
Charles II. left no issue, and at his death in 1685, the 
crown passed to his brother, the Duke of York, who 
reigned as James II. Before his accession, James II. 
had married Anne Hyde, daughter of Edward Hyde, 
Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor, by whom 
he had several children ; viz. Charles, born 1660, 
died the following year ; Mary, afterwards queen, 
born 1662, married in 1677 her cousin William, Prince 
of Orange ; James, born 1663, died 1667 ; Anne, after- 
wards queen, who married 1683, her relative Prince 
George of Denmark ; another Charles, born 1666, who 
died the following year; Edgar, born 1667, died 1671 ; 
Henrietta, born and died 1669 ; and Katherine, born 
and died 1671. After the death of his first wife in 
1671, James II. married secondly, in 1673, Mary 
D'Este, daughter of the Duke of Modena, a descendant 
of Azo of Este, by whom he had five children, of whom 
the youngest was James Francis Edward, born 1688, 
the first " Pretender," who disturbed the reign of 
George I., under the title of " the Chevalier de St. 
George," 13 and styling himself James III. ; by Mary 

12 Part of the dowry of the Infanta was the island of Bombay, 
which, in 1668, was ceded by the crown to the East India Com- 
pany. 

13 The battles of Preston and Sheriff Muir were fatal to the 



258 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Sobieski of Poland he was father of Charles Edward, 
called "the Young- Pretender," 14 and of Henry, " the 
Cardinal York," who, at his death in 1807 at Rome, 
was the last lineal male descendant of James II., and 
who was for many years a pensioner of the English 
court. 15 

The intolerant character of James II. and his at- 
tempt to establish popery, roused the nation against 
him, and led to the deposition of James in 1688, when 
the crown, forfeited by his arbitrary conduct, was 
settled upon his daughter Mary, and her husband the 
Prince of Orange, who were crowned as William III. 
and Mary II. on the 11th of April, 1689. James 
made an effort to recover his lost kingdom, but the 
battles of the Boyne and Aughrim put an end to his 
hopes. He retired to France and died in 1701. 

Queen Mary died in 1694, leaving her husband to 



hopes of the first Pretender, who died in 1765, as the battle of 
Culloden was to the young Pretender; Charles Edward died in 
1788 without issue. His widow Louisa, who died 1824, daugh- 
ter of the Duke of Stolberg, is supposed to have afterwards 
privately married the poet Alfieri. 

14 In 1753 Charles Edward came to England, and Lord Hol- 
derness, then a Secretary of State, asked of George II. what 
should be done with him ; the king replied, " Nothing ; when he 
is tired of staying here, let him go away." 

15 The Cardinal York caused a medal to be struck with the 
inscription, " Henricus Nonus, Angliae Rex, Gratia Dei, non 
voluntate Hominum." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 259 

reign alone, whose death occurred in 1702, occasioned 
by a fall from his horse, when, not having had any issue 
by his queen Mary, her sister Anne, according to the 
rule of succession laid down at the abdication of their 
father, became Queen of England: she was second 
daughter of James II., and was firmly attached to the 
Protestant religion. Her husband, George, Prince of 
Denmark, had no share whatever in the government, 
and was usually addressed as "his Highness Prince 
George ;" he was the son of Frederick III., King of 
Denmark, whose aunt was the queen to James I. of 
England. Queen Anne, by her consort, is said to 
have had no less than seventeen children, of whom all 
died in their first infancy, except William, Duke of 
Gloucester, born 1689, and died 1700. 16 In conse- 
quence of her consort's death in 1708, and Queen 
Anne being now childless, an act of succession was 
passed, by which the crown was secured to the Prin- 
cess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her descend- 
ants being protestants. The reign of " good Queen 
Anne," as she was styled by a people to whom she 
was endeared, is rendered famous by her continental 
triumphs, but most of all by the important acqui- 
sition of Gibraltar, that key to the Mediterranean; 
nor less by the bright names of those literary worthies 



16 Bishop Burnet bears the highest testimony to the promise 
of this young prince, who was his pupil. 



260 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

who procured for their time the title of the Golden 
Age. Queen Anne died in 1714, a few weeks after 
the Electress Sophia, when the son of the latter 
princess was called to the throne by the style of 
George I. It will be necessary to retrace our steps 
to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of James I. This 
princess was married at the age of seventeen 17 to 
Frederick V., Duke of Bavaria and Silesia, Elector 
Palatine of the Rhine, who was at the head of the 
" Evangelical Union." He accepted the offered crown 
of Bohemia, and was crowned at Prague with his con- 
sort, but not being sufficiently supported by his father- 
in-law James I.,' 8 and deserted bv the famous Gustavus 



17 In Xichols' " Progresses of King James the First," the 
reader will find a full account of the festivities and ceremonies 
observed at this marriage. Vol. ii. p. 536. The contrivers of 
" Gunpowder Plot" intended, if their scheme had succeeded, to 
seize the Princess Elizabeth, only nine years old, who was 
residing at the seat of Lord Harrington near Coventry, and to 
establish a government in her name. 

18 Pope bitterly alludes to James's character for learning, but 
indisposition for fighting : 

" Oh for some pedant reign, 
Some gentle James to bless the land again, 
To stick the doctor's chair unto the throne, 
Give law to words, or war with words alone." 
The timidity of James, as compared with the masculine bold- 
ness of his predecessor, occasioned the pasquinade affixed to the 
door of his cabinet : 

Rex fuit Elizabeth, nunc est Regina Jacobus. 



AxVD PRINCE ALBERT. 261 

Adolphus, he was deprived of his kingdom and his 
electorate by the Emperor Ferdinand, who defeated 
him at the battle of Prague, 1620. It is probable 
that the Elector was induced to grasp at the kingly 
dignity by the instigation of his consort, whose well- 
known expression was, " Let me rather eat my bread 
at a king's table, than feast at the board of an Elector." 19 
The children of the King and Queen of Bohemia were, 
1. Henry Frederic, who died 1628; 2. Elizabeth, 
Abbess of Herwoden ; 3. Charles, Elector Palatine, 
from the marriage of whose daughter Elizabeth, with 
a Duke of Orleans is descended the present King of 
the French, Louis Philippe ; 4. Prince Rupert, the 
famous royalist admiral in the civil war ; 5. Prince 
Maurice, equally celebrated for his exertions in the 
cause of Charles ; 6. Edward, Count Palatine, who 
embraced the Roman Catholic religion ; 20 7. Philip ; 

19 In the Antiquarian Repertory a curious letter is given, 
written by the Queen of Bohemia, complaining of the ambassador 
at the Hague, Sir Robert Anstruther, of whom she speaks as 
" a great fat knave," wishing the king had sent " a smaller tim- 
ber'd man over." This singular document is addressed to James 
Hay, Earl of Carlisle, to whom also she is not very complimen- 
tary, alluding to his " ouglie camel's face." 

20 The eldest daughter of Edward, Count Palatine, who mar- 
ried Anne of Nevers, Louisa Maria, espoused Charles, Prince 
of Salms, from whom the present family is descended : the 
second daughter, Anne, married Henry, Prince of Conde, and 
from them the unfortunate Duke D'Engheim was fifth in 



26'2 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

8. Gustavus ; 9. Louisa, an abbess ; 10. Henrietta . 
and lastly 11. the Princess Sophia, the only protestant 
of the family. The Elector Palatine died of a fever 
at Mentz in 1631 ; and after his death, his widow 
resided at the Hague till the restoration of her nephew 
Charles II., when she returned to England, where she 
died in 1662. 

The Princess Sophia, born in 1630, married in 
1658, Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, a 
lineal descendant of Henry the Lion of Saxony, by 
Matilda Plantagenet, daughter of Henry II. 
of England, the great grandson of Margaret, the 
last representative of the ancient Saxon blood royal. 
This union therefore was most auspicious, as by it 
their issue could claim a double descent from the early 
monarchs of England, upon whose throne they were 
destined to sit. Ernest Augustus, of Brunswick- 
Hanover, was the fourth son of George, the sixth 
son of William, son of Ernest the Pious, the 
friend of Luther : it had been agreed among the sons 
of Duke William, in order not to diminish the gran- 
deur of their family inheritance by partition, that one 



descent ; a third daughter, Henrietta, became the wife of a 
Duke of Hanover, and from two of their daughters spring the 
Houses of Alodena, and Saxony. AH the descendants of these 
branches, as well as those from Henrietta, daughter of Charles 
I., are excluded from the succession to the throne of England, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 263 

only of their number should marry ; lots were cast 
for this advantage, and fortune was in favour of 
George, the youngest son but one ; by his wife Ann 
Eleanor, daughter of Louis V., Landgrave of Hesse 
Darmstadt, he had four sons and four daughters ; of 
the latter, Sophia alone reached maturity, she married 
Frederick III., King of Denmark, by whom she was 
mother of "good Queen Anne's" consort. Of the 
sons of Duke George, the three eldest dying without 
male issue, the youngest, Ernest Augustus suc- 
ceeded to the family possessions of Zelle, Grubenha- 
gen, Calenburg, Gottingen, and Saxe-Lunenburg. In 
1692 he was raised to the rank of an Elector of the 
Empire, in consideration of his services against the 
Turks and French. 

His children by the Princess Sophia were, 1. 
George Lewis, afterwards King of England; 2. 
Frederick Augustus, slain in battle against the Turks, 
1690; 3. Maximilian William, field marshal of the 
Imperial army, who died 1726; 4. Sophia Charlotte, 
who married Frederick I., King of Prussia ; 5. Charles 
Philip, killed in fight against the Turks, 1690 ; 6. 
Christian, drowned in the Danube in a battle against 
the French, in 1703; and 7. Ernest Augustus, bishop 
of Osnaburg, who died 1728. The Elector Ernest 
Augustus died in 1698, aged sixty-nine, and the 
Electress Sophia died June 8th, 1714, at Herenhausen, 
fifty-three days before Queen Anne, to whom she 



264 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

stood next in succession, 21 when upon the death of that 
sovereign, August 1714, George Lewis, then Elector 
of Hanover, became first King of England of the House 
of Guelph, or Brunswick, by the style of George 
I., King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. 

George I., born May 28th, 1660, at the age of 
sixteen accompanied his father to the siege of Treves, 
where he gave signal proofs of intrepidity; in 1666-7 
he gave fresh proofs of courage at the sieges of 
Maestrich and Charleroi, and assisted at the victory 
of Mons in 1678, and was present at the sieges of 
Neucheusel and Buda in 1685 and 1686. In 1698, 
he succeeded his father as Elector of Hanover, and in 
1707 he was appointed to the command of the allied 
armies, and soon after he received the office of Arch- 
Treasurer of the Empire, and in 1714, achieved his 
great distinction in being called to the throne of this 
country in virtue of his being a protestant, and the 
son of the last surviving protestant descendant of 
James I. 

George I., in w T hom were blended the royal cur- 
rents of the Saxon, Norman, Plantagenet, Tu- 



21 Granger says of the Electress, " Sophia's long life was with- 
out a single stain. She had as many virtues and confessedly 
more accomplishments than any of the princesses her contem- 
poraries ; every way she was an extraordinary character." 
Biog. Hist. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 265 

dor, and Stuart blood, had to contend in the begin- 
ning of his reign against the pretensions of the Cheva- 
lier St. George, which were soon crushed. The king 
had married his cousin Sophia Dorothea, only 
child of George William, Duke of Zelle (second 
son of George, Duke of Brunswick), by Eleanora 
daughter of Alexander D'Olbreuse. George I. had 
only two children by his queen, viz. George Augus- 
tus, his successor on the throne ; and Sophia Dorothy, 
who married Frederick William, King of Prussia. 
George I. died of apoplexy at Osnaburg, in his German 
dominions, June 11th, 1727, and his consort died in 
1726. 

George II., born Oct. 30th, 1683, in 1705 married 
Wilhelmina Carolina, daughter of John Fre- 
derick, Margrave of Brandenburg Anspach, by 
Eleanora, daughter of John George, Duke of 
Saxe-Eisenach. The children of this union were, 
1. Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, born at 
Hanover, 1707, who married in 1736 Augusta, 
daughter of Frederick II. Duke of Saxe-Gotha, 
by whom he had a son, who sat on the throne as 
George III.; and other issue ; 2. Anne, born 1709, 
who married William Charles Henry, Prince of Nas- 
sau and Orange; 3. Amelia Sophia, born 1711, died 
1786; 4. Elizabeth Caroline, born 1713, died 1757; 
5. George William, born 1717, lived only three 
months ; 6. William Augustus, born 1721, Duke of 



266 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Cumberland, the hero of Culloden ; 7. Mary, born 
1723, married to Prince Frederick of Hesse Cassel ; 
and 8. Louisa, born 1724, who married Frederick V., 
King of Denmark. 

The Prince of Wales died in his father's life-time, 
in 1751, 22 leaving issue, besides his son already named, 
2. a daughter, Augusta, born 1737, who married 
Charles William Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of 
Brunswick- Wolfenbuttel ; 3. Edward Augustus, born 
] 739, created Duke of York, who rose to the rank of 
vice-admiral of the blue, who died 1767 ; 4. Eliza 
Carolina, born 1740, and died 1759 ; 5. William 
Henry, born 1743, created Duke of Gloucester; 23 
6. Henry Frederick, born 1745, created Duke of 
Cumberland after the death of his gallant uncle, he 
died 1790, leaving no issue ; 7. Louisa Ann, born 
1749, died 1768; 8. Frederick William, born 1750, 



22 Frederick Lewis bore the titles of Prince of Wales, Elec- 
toral Prince, and Hereditary of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Duke 
of Cornwall, of Rothsay, and of Edinburgh, Marquess of the Isle 
of Ely, Earl of Chester, Carrick, and Eltham, Viscount Laun- 
ceston, Baron Renfrew and Snowdon, Lord of the Isles, and 
Steward of Scotland. 

23 The Duke of Gloucester, who died in 1805, married 1766, 
Maria, daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, Countess Dowager of 
Waldegrave, by whom he had a daughter, the present Princess 
Sophia Matilda, born 1773, and a son, William Frederick, the 
late Duke of Gloucester, born 1776, and another daughter who 
lived only a year. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 267 

died 1765; and 9. Carolina Matilda, born 1751, 
married in 1766 to her first cousin, Christian VII., 
King of Denmark, and died 1775, leaving issue, 
Frederick VI. The Princess of Wales, who was the 
fifteenth child of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, the lineal 
male descendant of Witikind the Great, died Feb. 8th, 
1772, in the fifty-third year of her age. 

George II. was the last English sovereign who led 
his own troops to battle ; he gained a famous victory 
at Dettingen over the French in 1741. In the year 
1745, the " Young Pretender," Prince Charles Edward 
Stuart, made an effort to recover the crown worn by 
his ancestors ; but the star of the House of Brunswick 
was in the ascendant, and Charles Edward, after as 
many perils and hair-breadth escapes as his great 
uncle Charles II. had encountered, was forced to 
abandon his pretensions, in which he found few to 
sympathize, save some warm-hearted Highlanders 
strongly attached to the ancient name of Stuart. The 
reign of George II. was enriched by many important 
acquisitions, of which several of our West Indian 
islands, and Canada, are conspicuous. In the midst 
of victories the king died suddenly, October 25th, 
1760. His consort died November 20th, 1737, in 
the fifty-fifth year of her age. 

The grandson of George II. who ascended the 
throne as George III., was born May 24th, 1738» 
and had therefore completed his twenty-second year 



268 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

when called to the kingly dignity.' 24 The year after 
his accession he married Sophia Charlotte, born 
1744, daughter of Charles Lewis, Duke of Meck- 
lenburg-Strelitz, by Albertina Elizabeth, 
daughter of Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe- 
Hildburghausen. Fifteen children were the off- 
spring of a marriage in which domestic happiness was 
realized to an extent seldom seen in royal circles. 
These were, 1. George Augustus Frederic, born 1762, 
created Prince of Wales, and afterwards King of 
England; 2. Frederick, born 1763, created Duke of 
York, he died 1827, without issue by his wife, Frede- 
rica, daughter of the King of Prussia; 3. William 
Henry, born 1765, created Duke of Clarence, after- 
wards King of England ; 4. Charlotte Augusta Ma- 
tilda, born 1766, Princess Royal of England, married 
in 1797, to Frederick William, Duke, and afterwards 
King of Wurtemberg ; 5. Edward, born Nov. 2nd, 
1767, created Duke of Kent, who, by his marriage 
with Marta Louisa Victoria, widow of the Prince 
of Leinengen, and daughter of Francis Frederick 
Antony, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, be- 



24 The grandson of George II. was proclaimed by the style of 
" George III., by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, 
and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and so forth." His other 
titles were, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Arch-Treasurer 
and Electoral Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 269 

came father of an only daughter, Alexandrina Vic- 
toria, who, on the death of her uncle William IV., 
acceded to the throne of these realms, and is now Our 
Most Gracious Sovereign ; 6. Augusta Sophia, 
born 1768, died 1840; 7. Elizabeth, born 1770, who 
married in 1818, Frederick, Prince of Hesse-Hom- 
burg; 8. Ernest Augustus, born 1771, created Duke 
of Cumberland, and became, on the death of William 
IV., King of Hanover, in virtue of the Salic Law ; 
9. Augustus Frederick, born 1773, created Duke of 
Sussex ; 10. Adolphus Frederick, born 1774, created 
Duke of Cambridge ; 11. Mary, born 1776, who mar- 
ried her cousin, William, Duke of Gloucester; 12 # 
Sophia, born 1777 ; 13. Octavius, born 1779, who 
died 1783 ; 14. Alfred, 25 born 1780, who died 1782 ; 
and 15. Amelia, born in 1783, whose death in 1810 
brought about a fond parent's bereavement of reason. 
The attempt to give even an epitome of the reign 
of George III., extending as it did over the longest 
space ever vouchsafed to a king of England, would 
far exceed the limits of a work devoted more especially 
to genealogical enquiry, and seeking to illustrate only 
with biographical memoirs more remote or less well- 
known personages. The pens of able men have de- 
scribed the glowing events of this period, the loss of 



25 It is singular that no son of a king of England was named 
after the Great Father of his country until this time. 



270 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Great Britain's possessions in a younger world; the 
mighty convulsion of a neighbour state, wherein was 
repeated the fearful scene once witnessed in our own 
country ; the tremendous struggle in which England, 
engaged single-handed against the world, displayed 
energies undreamed of, but in the hands of her gallant 
sons rendered irresistible, as of him 26 

" Who victor died on Gadite wave ; 

To him as to the burning levin, 

Short, bright, resistless course was given ;" 27 

or of him who yet survives the dangers of a hundred 
fields, in the enjoyment of well-earned honours be- 
stowed by a grateful and admiring country. 

For the last years of his life the regal dignity of the 
venerable George III., afflicted with darkness alike of 
mind and body, was discharged vicariously, his eldest 
son, the Prince of Wales, being appointed Regent in 
1812, who, when his august parent died, January 29th, 
1820, succeeded to the full honours of the throne as 
George IV. ; he married, April 8th, 1795, his cousin 
Caroline, daughter of Charles William, Duke of Bruns- 
wick, and Augusta of England; one only daughter 
resulted from this union, the much-lamented Princess 
Charlotte of Wales, born January 7th, 1796, who, in 
1817, was married to Leopold, youngest son of Francis 

26 Nelson. 2 ? Sir Walter Scott. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 271 

Frederick Anthony, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saal field, 
but this promising union was of short continuance, as 
the princess died, Nov. 6th, 1817, in giving birth to 
a still-born child. 28 Her illustrious consort became, in 
1831, King of the Belgians, and in the following year 
espoused a daughter of France. George IV. dying 
June 26th, 1830, was succeeded by his next surviving 
brother, the Duke of Clarence, who ascended the 
throne as William IV.; by his marriage in 1818, July 
11, with Adelaide, daughter of George Frederick 
Charles, Duke of Saxe-Meinengen, great grandson of 
Bernard, third son of Ernest the Pious, William IV. 
had several children, none of whom arrived at matu- 
rity. 29 This kind-hearted monarch died June 20th, 
1837, when the crown came to his niece, as daughter 
of his next brother, the Duke of Kent, who ascended 
the throne by the style of Victoria of the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen ; 



28 Among the many touching tributes to the memory of " the 
fair-hair'd daughter of the Isles," none was more sincere or 
beautiful than that of Lord Byron, who seldom went out of his 
way to praise royalty, beginning, 

" Scion of chiefs and monarchs, where art thou? 
Fond hope of many nations, art thou dead 1 
Could not the grave forget thee, and Jay low 
Some less majestic, less beloved head?" 

Childe Harold, C. iv. st. 148, &c. 

29 Two children only lived long enough to receive names, the 
Princesses Charlotte and Elizabeth. 



272 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the kingdom of Hanover passing to her uncle, the 
Duke of Cumberland, the eldest surviving son of 
George III., as not being tenable by a female. 30 

Her present Majesty, born May 24th, 1819, 
is the only child of His late Royal Highness, Prince 
Edward, created April 23rd, 1799, Duke of Kent 
in England, of Strathern in Scotland, and Earl of 
Dublin in Ireland, K. G. and K. P. fourth son of 
George III. ; the Duke of Kent espoused, May 29th, 
1818, the Princess Dowager of Leinengen, Victoria 
Maria Louisa, 31 third daughter of Francis Fre- 
derick Anthony, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saal- 
feld, and who has now the happiness of seeing her 
child seated upon the greatest throne in the world. 



30 Queen Victoria's armorial shield is charged in precisely 
the same manner as that of her ancestor James I. of England, 
viz. in the 1st and 4th quarters with the three golden lions of 
England, in the 2nd quarter with the "ruddy lion ramped in 
gold" and tressure of Scotland, and in the 3rd quarter with the 
golden harp of Ireland. Ever since the time of James I., the 
supporters have been the English golden lion on the dexter, and 
one of the Scottish silver unicorns on the sinister side ; James, 
when King of Scotland, having used two of these animals for 
his supporters. 

31 Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent was the widow 
of Charles, Prince of Leinengen, who died 1814, and to whom 
she was married Dec. 21st, 1803. Two children were the fruit 
of this union : Charles Frederick, born 1804, the reigning prince, 
who is married; and Anna Feodorowna, born 1807, who is mar- 
ried to Ernest, Prince of Hohenlohe-Laugenburg. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 27*3 

Her Majesty's royal father only survived the birth of 
his illustrious daughter a few months, and deceased 
January 23rd, 1820, a week before the death of his 
revered parent, George III. 

Her Majesty, from her cradle, had been looked 
upon as the presumptive heiress of her grandfather's 
throne, being born eighteen months after the death of 
the Princess Charlotte, and her education, conducted 
by her only remaining royal parent, has justified the 
interest and hope felt for the royal child by the nation 
among whom she was born, and it may be permitted 
to a humble subject to say, that no sovereign, of all 
her long and far descended race, has ever reigned more 
truly in the hearts of her subjects than the illustrious 
lady who now rules over 

"This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, 
This earth of Majesty, this seat of Mars, 
This other Eden, demi-paradise ; 
This fortress, built by nature for herself 
Against infection, and the hand of war ; 
This happy breed of men, this little world, 
This precious stone set in the silver sea, 



This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, 
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings, 
Fear'd by their breed, and famous by their birth, 

This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land, 
Dear for her reputation through the world." 32 

Our truly English poet, in placing this glowing description 



274 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Queen Victoria was crowned June 28th, 1838, 
and on February 10th, 1840, married her first cousin, 
Prince Albert Francis Augustus Charles 
Emanuel, of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, of which happy- 
union a daughter was born November 21st, 1840, the 
Princess Royal of England, who, on the anniversary 
of the marriage of her illustrious parents, received the 
names of Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa. 

Having traced Her Majesty from the great 
Cerdic by the English descents, 

" Currents that spring from one most gracious head," 

it will be necessary to bestow some attention upon her 
pedigree from the renowned Witikind, the common 
ancestor of the Queen and of Prince Albert. But 
this common descent is claimed only through the great 
Saxon's second son, Witikind II., the lineal ancestor 
of Ernest the Pious, from whom are derived the 
mother of George III , and the grandfather of Her 
Majesty and Prince Albert. Wigbert, the eldest 
son of the famous Witikind, is the direct progenitor 
of Henry Leo, who married the daughter of Henry 



(Richard II. Act ii. sc. 1.) in the mouth of John of Gaunt, one 
of her present Majesty's progenitors, has only seized another 
occasion of expressing his own patriotic feelings, which sparkle 
in so many of his deathless pages, when speaking of our "dear 
dear land." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 275 

II. of England, by whom he was father of William 
of Winchester, first Duke of Brunswic-Lunenburg, 
whose fifteenth lineal descendant was George L, 
King of England. To this elder branch we now 
direct our notice. 



-76 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

iiriir\lr\*ri*ri*ri*ri*ri*ri»r\*ri*n*n*r»»r»*n*ri*r»*t 



CHAPTER XX. 

" To the old heroes hence was given 
A pedigree which reached to heav'n." 

WALLER. 

TTie Elder Branch ©/"Witikind to Henry 
the Lion. 

"TTTITIKIND, called the Great, was the last of a 
" * long line of Saxon kings (on the continent), 
whose names are given by some writers in a list reach- 
ing higher than the Christian era. 1 Witikind, worthy 
to be the elected chief of his warlike nation, fought 
seventeen battles with Charlemagne before that impe- 
rial ruler was able to break the spirit of the Saxons ; 
who at last accepted his proposals of peace, when 
Witikind, with all his family, was baptized in the 
Christian faith, receiving 1 from Charles the Great, the 



1 Speed derives " the valiant Witikindus, the principal pro- 
genitor of the most noble family of the Dukes of Saxony," from 
Hatwaker, eldest son of Hengist. Lavoisne gives a list of thir- 
teen ancestors between Hengist and Witikind, who is thus also 
derived from Woden, the common stock of the kings of the 
Heptarchy. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 277 

duchy of Angria, in fief, and also the title of Duke 
of Saxony. 2 In his old age, Witikind made war 
asrainst the Swabians, and was suffocated in his armour 
in 807. By his first wife Geva, daughter of Siffrid, 
King of Denmark, he had a son, Wigbert, his suc- 
cessor, and a daughter, Hasala, who married Bernonis, 
Lord of Bellensted; by a second wife, Suatania, 
daughter of Zechius, a prince in Bohemia, Witikind 
was father of Witikind II., Count of W T ettin, ancestor 
of Ernest the Pious. 

Wigbert succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony ; 
he married Sandacilla, daughter of Ratbod, King 
of Friesland, by whom he had two sons, Bruno, or 
Bureno, his successor, and Walbert, or Wolfurt, Count 
of Ringelheim. 3 Wigbert died in 825, when Bruno 
I. became third Duke of Saxony ; he died in 843, 
leaving by his wife Suana, Countess of Montfort, a 
son Ludolph, who greatly enlarged his dominions, 
and was created Great Duke of Saxony by the Em- 
peror Lothair; he married Hedwige, daughter of 
Everard, Duke of Friuli, by whom he had three 
sons : Bruno II., who built Brunswic, Bruno's-wic, in 



2 Speed observes that Witikind had, by Charles, " his muta- 
ble title of king turned into the enduring style and honour of 
Duke." 

3 From Count Walbert descended Theodoric, Count of Olden 
burg, whose son was the founder of a new dynasty on the throne 
of Denmark, under the title of Christian I. See Table XXXI. 



278 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

861 ; Daneward, and Otho ; who was named in 912 
for Emperor, which dignity he refused. Ludolph died 
in 859, and was succeeded by Bruno II., who died in 
,880, without issue ; when the line of Witikind was 
continued by his brother Otho, surnamed the Great, 
who died at an advanced age in 916, leaving by his 
wife Luitgarde, daughter of the Emperor Arnolf, 
a son Henry, called in history the Fowler, or the 
Birder, from his following the hawks when called 
upon to assume the imperial dignity, which he obtained 
on the death of Conrad I., in 919. This prince, who 
was one of the greatest rulers of his time, freed his 
country from foreign oppression, fortified many cities, 
and, in 935, instituted tournaments to accustom his 
nobles to arms ; he died at the age of sixty -nine, in 
936, leaving by his second wife Matilda, daughter 
of Theodoric, 4 Count of Ringelheim and Oldenburg, 
several children. His eldest son Otho the Great suc- 
ceeded as Emperor, and married Editha of England, 
daughter of Edward the Elder ; from which union 
is descended Frederick the Grave, Margrave of 
Thuringia, a common ancestor of Queen Victoria, 
as w r ell as of Prince Albert, who is thus connected 



4 As most historians concur in stating that Henry the Fowler's 
wife was a descendant of Witikind, we may presume that she 
is derived from Wolfurt, Count of Ringelheim, second sun of 
Wigblrt, eldest son of the Saxon hero. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



279 



with the blood of Alfred the Great. Henry the 
Fowler's third son, Henry, was invested with the 
duchy of Bavaria by his brother the Emperor Otho, 
having married Judith, daughter of Arnolph, Duke 
of Bavaria, by whom he had three sons> of whom the 
third carried on the line, Herman, Count of Nor- 
theim, and Duke of Saxony on the Weser, father of 
Sigfrid I. ; whose son Sigfrid II., Count of Nor- 
theim and Gottingen, was father of Otho, Duke of 
Saxony on the Weser, and Duke of Bavaria from 
1062 to 1070 ; who was slain in 1083, leaving by his 
wife, Cuniza of Bavaria, several children, of whom 
the eldest was his successor, Henry, called Pinguis, 
Duke of Saxony ; who married Gertrude, daughter 
and heir of Egbert I., Margrave of Saxony, great 
grandson of Bruno, second son of Henry the Fowler; 
of this marriage Richenza, fourth child, became 
heiress of Saxony and Brunswick, which she conveyed 
in marriage to the Emperor Lothaire II. , in 1118, 
and their only child, Gertrude, heiress of Saxony, 
married Henry the Proud, Duke of Bavaria, of the 
House of Guelph, and father by her of Henry the 
Lion of Saxony. 

As Henry the Lion was the representative of many 
illustrious families, it is necessary to give his descent 
from the Houses of Guelph, Este, and Billing, 
before we proceed with the pedigree of the House of 
Brunswick. 



280 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER XXI. 

" Occupa Guelfo il campo a lor vicino, 
Com ch' all' alta fortuna agguaglia il mei to : 
Conta costui per genitor Latino 
Degli avi Estensi un lungo ordine e certo ; 
Ma German di cognome e di domino 
Nella gran casa de' Guelfoni e inserto ; 
Regge Carintia, e presso 1' Istro e'l Reno 
Cio che i prischi Suevi e i Reti avieno." 

Tasso, Ger. Lib. Canto i. st. 41. 

The Descent o/'Henry the ~Lio*sfrom the House 
o/'Guelph. 

THE eloquent Gibbon, had he lived to complete 
his interesting fragment on the " x\ntiquities of 
the House of Brunswick," would probably have left 
us a clear and well-defined genealogy of that illustrious 
family, had his powerful and acute mind been devoted 
to the subject, since he states, " I am not unacquainted 
with the ancient Guelphs, nor incapable of giving an 
account of the power and downfall of their heirs, the 
dukes of Bavaria and Saxony." 

As some genealogists affect to derive the House of 
Guelph from the Frankish Kino- or Duke of East 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



281 



Friesland, Pharamond, in the fifth century, an 
account of that descent may be inserted without any 
pledge being given of its correctness. Pharamond 
is said to have married Argotta, daughter of Gene- 
bald, son of Marcomer V., the last King of the Fran- 
conians, and died a. d. 430, leaving a son, Clodio ; 
who died in 445, who left by his wife Basina, daugh- 
ter of Weldelphus, 1 King of Thuringia, two sons : 
the eldest Meroveus, from whom the Merovingian 
kings of France are said to be derived : and Adelbert 
or Abro, who is stated to be the ancestor of the Car- 
lovingian and Capetian monarchs ; he is called Lord, 
or Duke on the Moselle, and by his wife Argota, 
is said to have had a son, Vanbert, who succeeded 
his father in 491, and dying in 528, left, by his wife 
Lucilla, a son called Ansbert, who had a son called 
Arnold, whose son was St. Arnold, mayor to 
Clothaire II., and grandfather to Pepin d'HERisTAL, 
from whom Charlemagne descended. Ansbert 
also left a daughter, Gertrude, who married Riche- 
mer, Duke of Franconia ; by whom she had a daugh- 
ter, Gerberge, who espoused Ega, mayor of the 
palace to Dagobert I., and who died 646, and was 
succeeded in his office of mayor by their son Ercham- 
bald, mayor to Clovis II.; who, dying 661, left a son 

1 The writers who advocate this line of pedigree, perceive 
the origin of the word Guelph, or Welph, in this king's name. 



282 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Ethicus, who became Duke of Alsatia ; in which he 
was succeeded, 720, by his son Adelbert ; who died 
741, leaving a son Eberhard, Duke of Alsatia; who 
had two sons, Warinus, and Isambart ; the latter 
succeeded on the death of his brother, without issue, 
to the lordship of Altorf, or Weingarten, and is 
certainly an historical personage, well recognized by 
most writers, as the father, by his wife Ermentrude, 
sister to Charlemagne's queen Hildegarde, of Guelph 
I., in whom most genealogists agree to behold the 
direct ancestor of the House of Brunswick. He 
was the contemporary and friend of the Great Charles, 
the Emperor, who created him Duke of Bavaria ; and 
the importance of the House of Altorf was increased 
by the marriage of Guelph's daughter Judith, to 
Charlemagne's son, Louis the Debonair, from 
which union were descended the Earls of Flanders, 
and Matilda, wife to William the Conqueror. 
Guelph had two other daughters ; one of whom, 
Susanna, married Bruno, brother to the great Witi- 
kind : he had also three sons ; 2 the eldest of whom* 



2 One of these, according to Sir Robert Comyn, was Conrad, 
first Count of Auxerre, grandfather of Rodolph I., King of 
Burgundy, whose grandson Conrad, King of Burgundy, was by 
Matilda, daughter of Louis IV. of France, father of several 
daughters, of whom Gerberge, married Herman II., Duke of 
Suabia, whose granddaughter Giselle, [married Conrad the 
Salic, a direct ancestor of Her Majesty and Prince Albert. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 283 

Ethico, succeeded, on the death of Guelph in 820, to 
Altorf and Ravenspurg ; he married Judith, daugh- 
ter of King Ethelwolf, by whom he had two sons, 
Henry and Bardo, the latter slain by the Normans 
in 880, and a daughter Luitgarde, who became the 
wife of Louis II., King of Bavaria, great grandson of 
Charlemagne. Ethico was succeeded by his son 
Henry I., called "of the Golden Chariot," 3 who 
became by the gift of his brother-in-law, Louis II., 
Duke of Lower Bavaria; by his wife Oriana, Coun- 
tess of Flanders, he had a son and successor, Henry 
II., who died in 930, having married Hatta, Countess 
of Howenwart (descended from the Emperor Arnolf), 
by whom he had three sons : the eldest, Rudolph L, 
succeeding in Bavaria, Altorf, and Ravensburg; he 
died in 940, leaving by his wife Siburgis, Duchess 
of Suabia, an only daughter, married to Arnulf, 
Palatine of Schyern, and Duke of Upper Bavaria ; 
their issue was Guelph II., Count of Altorf and 
Ravenspurg, and Duke of Lower Bavaria; he died 
in 980, and was succeeded by his son Rudolph II., 
who married Itha, daughter of Cuno, Count of 



3 The Emperor promised him as much tract of land as he 
could traverse in one day with a chariot of gold, thinking that 
Henry's poverty would prevent the performance of such an act ; 
but the latter obtained the grant by travelling in a common 
vehicle with a miniature chariot of the precious metal in his 
lap. 



284 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Oeningen by Mathildis, daughter of the Emperor 
Otiio I., son of Henry the Fowler, and by her 
had a son, Guelph III., who succeeded his father 
Rudolph in 1020, and by his wife Irmengarde 
(whose sister Cunegunda married the Emperor Henry 
II.) daughter of Gisilbert, Count of Luxemburg, 
was father of a son and daughter : the son was Guelph 
IV., who died in 1055, without issue, when the daugh- 
ter, Cunigunda, became heiress of Bavaria, and 
of the possessions of the House of Guelph, which 
she conveyed to the House of Este, by her marriage 
with Azo III., the powerful head of that noble family : 
of this union a son was born, Guelph V., in whom 
centred the blood of the two great houses, and who 
became first Duke of Upper and Lower Bavaria, in 
1097. He engaged in the first crusade against the 
Turks, and died in the Isle of Cyprus in 1101. By 
his second wife, Judith, daughter of Baldwin V., 
Earl of Flanders (the widow of Harold's brother, 
Tostig, as before mentioned, and sister of the Con- 
queror's queen, Matilda), Guelph V. had two 
sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Guelph VI., 
succeeded as Duke of Bavaria, and died in 1119, and 
having no issue by his wife, the famous Countess 
Mathilda, heiress of an elder branch of the House of 
Este, the dukedom of Bavaria came to his brother 
Henry III., called Niger, who married the heiress 
of a noble house, Wolfildis, daughter of Magnus, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 285 

the last Duke of Saxony of the race of Billing, 4 
when Henry the Black assumed the style of Duke 
of Saxony, as well as Duke of Bavaria, of Spoleto, 
Margrave of Tuscany, and Prince of Sardinia. Lunen- 
burg came to Henry Niger as a part of his wife's 
inheritance, which had not been held of the imperial 
crown. He died in 1125, having several children by 
his wife, of whom Guelph succeeded him in Tuscany 
and Sardinia, and Henry IV., the Proud, the eldest 



4 The House of Billing, or Billung, deserves a short notice. 
The first of the family whom we find highly distinguished in 
history is Herman, son of Billing of Stuckeshorn, who was a 
brave warrior, and of great service to the Emperor Otho I., who 
bestowed his own duchy of Saxony upon Herman, in 960, it 
being contrary to the principle of the empire that the Emperor 
should retain a fief. Herman married Hildegarde of Wester- 
berg, by whom he had two sons and two daughters, and dying 
in 973, was succeeded by his eldest son, Berniiard I., who 
married Geila, daughter of Wratislaus, Prince of Pomerania, 
and dying in 1011, was succeeded by his son Bernhard II., 
whose wife was Bertrade, daughter of Harald IL, King of 
Norway, by whom he had a son, Ordulph, who succeeded as 
duke in 1062. Ordulph married Gisla, daughter of Olaus, King 
of Norway, by whom he had one son, Magnus, who succeeded 
at his father's death in 107-1, and died in 1106, the last Duke of 
Saxony of the House of Billing. He was twice married, and by 
his second wife, Sophia, daughter of Geysa II., King of Hun- 
gary, he left a daughter, Wolfildis, sole heiress of Saxony, 
who married, as before observed, Henry the Black, Duke of 
Bavaria. 



286 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

son, succeeded to Bavaria, and. by marrying, as before 
mentioned, Gertrude, daughter of the Emperor 
Lothaire II., and the heiress of Saxony, acquired 
that dukedom ; he obtained also the lands of Bruns- 
wick, and the county of Northeim, with many rich 
grants, by the favour of his imperial father-in-law 
who intended him for his successor in the empire, 
sending him all the insignia of the dignity at his death 
in 1137, which was however obtained by Conrad III., 
who deprived his rival of his duchies, bestowing Saxony 
upon Albert of Brandenburg, and giving Bavaria to 
Leopold of Austria. Henry the Proud by Gertrude 
left one son, Henry IV., called the Lion of Saxony, 
who greatly added to the importance of his family, as 
his ancestors had enriched it, by marriage, his second 
wife being Matilda of England, daughter of 
Henry II., by whom he became the progenitor of a 
long line of princes, who in time exchanged their 
ducal coronet for the regal crown of England. Having 
brought the descent of the Guelphs down to Henry 
the Lion, it will be necessary to notice his pedigree 
from the ancient House of Este. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 287 



CHAPTER XXII. 

" A king of France declared that the family of Montmorency 
was more ancient than his own, but the family of Este is far 
more ancient than that of Montmorency." playfair. 

The House o/*Este to Henry the Lion. 

VARIOUS conjectures have been started as to 
the origin of the House of Este, which is of 
acknowledged antiquity. Anderson in his Tables, 
and Jacob in his work, derive it from Caius Actius, 
who resided at Ateste, since softened to Este, in the 
year 390, a list of whose descendants is given to the 
time of Azo who married the heiress of Altorf, as 
already described ; but as great doubt is perhaps justly 
thrown upon this supposed descent, it will be safer to 
trust to the guidance of those who are content to begin 
at the ninth century the history of this eminent family. 
The historian Gibbon, in his " Antiquities of the House 
of Brunswick," thus eloquently introduces his theme : 
" An English subject may be prompted by a just and 
liberal curiosity to investigate the origin and story of 
the House of Brunswick, which, after an alliance with 
u 



288 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the daughters of our kings, has been called by the voice 
of a free people to the legal inheritance of the crown. 
From George I. and his father, the first Elector of 
Hanover, we ascend in a clear and regular series, to 
the first Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, who 
received his investiture from Frederick II. about the 
middle of the thirteenth century. 1 If these ample 
possessions had been the gift of the emperor to some 
adventurous soldier, to some faithful client, we might 
be content with the antiquity and lustre of a noble 
race, which had been enrolled nearly six hundred 
years among the princes of Germany. But our ideas 
are raised, and our prospect is opened, by the discovery 
that the first Duke of Brunswick was rather degraded 
than adorned by his new title, since it imposed the 
duties of feudal service on the free and patrimonial 
estate, which alone had been saved in the shipwreck 
of the more splendid fortunes of his house. 2 His 
ancestors had been invested with the powerful duchies 
of Bavaria and Saxony, which extended far beyond 
their limits in modern geography ; from the Baltic sea 



1 This alludes to Otho Puer (grandson of Henry the Lion), 
who was created Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg by Frederick 
II. in 1235. See Chapter xxiv. 

2 The ancestors of the Dukes of Brunswick were lords of 
Brunswick in the middle of the ninth century, and we have seen 
that one of the family, Otho, was thought worthy of the empire 
in 912, which he had the true dignify to refuse. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 289 

to the confines of Rome they were obeyed, or re- 
spected, or feared : in the quarrel of the Guelphs and 
Ghibellines, the former appellation was derived from 
the name of their progenitors in the female line. But 
the genuine masculine descent of the princes of Bruns- 
wick must be explored beyond the Alps ; the venerable 
tree which has since overshadowed Germany and 
Britain was planted in the Italian soil. As far as our 
sight can reach, we discern the first founders of the 
race in the Marquises of Este, of Liguria, and perhaps 
of Tuscany. In the eleventh century, the primitive 
stem was divided into two branches ; the elder migrated 
to the banks of the Danube and the Elbe ; the younger 
more humbly adhered to the neighbourhood of the 
Adriatic: the dukes of Brunswick and the kings of 
Great Britain are the descendants of the first; the 
dukes of Ferrara and Modena were the offspring of 
the second." 3 

With the aid of the labours of the learned Leibnitz 
and Muratori, the acute Gibbon proceeds to the ances- 
try of the House of Este : " An old charter of the 
reign of Charlemagne and the beginning of the ninth 
century has casually preserved the memory of Boni- 
face, the Bavarian ; the Count, or governor of Lucca, 

3 This alludes to the sons of Albert- Azo II. ; the eldest, Guelph, 
son of the great heiress Cunegonda, being the ancestor of the 
House of Brunswick, whilst Fulco, son by another marriage, 
became progenitor of the Dukes of Modena. 



290 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the father of the Marquises of Tuscany, and the first 
probable ancestor of the house of Este and Brunswick." 
Gibbon imagines that Count Boniface was born in 
Bavaria, and that his services were rewarded by Char- 
lemagne with the government of an Italian province. 
The historian then continues : "lam ignorant of the 
parents of Boniface, the Bavarian ; of his character 
and actions I am likewise ignorant. But his official 
title describes him as one of the principal ministers 
and nobles of the kingdom of Italy." We obtain 
neither the name of the wife of Boniface, nor the 
date of his death, but we are told that he was succeeded 
by a son, Boniface II., who " approved himself wor- 
thy of his name and honours. He had been entrusted 
with the defence of the maritime coast and the isle of 
Corsica against the Mahometans of Africa, and his 
right to command the service of the neighbouring 
counts may entitle him to the appellation of Duke or 
Marquis of Tuscany, which was assumed by his des- 
cendants." 4 This adventurous chief led his troops to 
Africa and gave the infidels a repulse, " which was 
long remembered by the Moslems." When Lothaire 
imprisoned his step-mother, the Empress Judith, daugh- 
ter of Guelph I., " Boniface, with some loyal subjects, 
perceived her danger, and flew to her relief." This 
service drew upon Boniface "the displeasure of Lo- 

4 Gibbon, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 291 

thaire, who was still master of the kingdom of Italy, 
and who denied the investiture of their fiefs to all the 
accomplices of the escape of Judith. Boniface retired 
to France, where his exile was alleviated by the most 
honourable employments." 5 

The date of the death of Boniface II. is not recorded, 
but he was succeeded by his son, Adalbert I., " who 
had," Gibbon says, " a more unquestionable right to 
the appellation of Duke and Marquis of Tuscany." 
In opposition to the statements of some genealogists, 
Gibbon derives the lineal descent of the Royal House 
of Brunswick from Boniface, a son of Adalbert I., 
and he states that Adalbert III. was the son of Boni- 
face, who as a younger son did not succeed to the 
honours of Adalbert I. 

Adalbert III. flourished in the beginning of the 
tenth century, and was succeeded by his son, Marquis 
Othbert I., who is often called the father of the 
House of Brunswick. For the services rendered by 
Othbert to the Emperor Otho, he .was rewarded with 
the important office of Count of the sacred Palace, 
which he exercised for twelve years. In the decline 
of life, he retired to a Benedictine abbey which he 
had richly endowed, where " the descendant of princes, 
the favourite of kings, the judge of nations, was 
conspicuous among his brethren in the daily labour 

5 Gibbon. 



292 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

of collecting and feeding the hogs of the monas- 
tery." 6 

Othbert I. was succeeded in his patrimony by his 
son, " who can only be distinguished by the epithet of 
the Second, from the similar name and title of his 
father. The life of the second Othbert was tranquil 
or obscure ; he was rich in lands, in vassals, and in 
four valiant sons, Azo, Hugh, Adalbert, and Guido," ' 
who were conspicuous in the wars for the imperial 
dignity. 

Azo, who is called Albert-Azo I. by Gibbon, suc- 
ceeded his father, Othbert II.; he married Yal- 
drada, daughter of Peter Candianus, the fourth 
Doge of Venice of his name and family, 8 by a sister of 
Hugo, the rich Duke of Tuscany. " Albert-Azo I. 
fixed his permanent and principal seat in the castle 
and town of Ateste, or Este, formerly a Roman colony 
of some note ; and by a harmless anticipation we may 
apply to his descendants the title of Marquis of Este. 
From Este their new estates, the inheritance of Hugo 
the Great, extended to the Adige, the Po, and the 
Mincius." 9 



6 Gibbon. 7 Ibid. 

8 He succeeded his father, Peter Candianus III. in 952, and 
like him was massacred. In the reign of Peter Candianus II., 
a. d. 944, the seizure by pirates of " The Brides of Venice" took 
place, which is alluded to in Rogers' " Italy." 

9 Gibbon. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 293 

Albert- Azo I. was succeeded by his son Albert- 
Azo II., " whose name and character shine conspicu- 
ous through the gloom of the eleventh century. The 
most remarkable features in the portrait are, 1. his 
Ligurian marquisate ; 2. his riches ; 3. his long life ; 
4. his marriages ; 5. his rank of nobility in the public 
opinion. The glory of his descendants is reflected on 
the founder, and Azo II. claims our attention as the 
stem of the two great branches of the pedigree ; as the 
common father of the Italian and German princes of 
the kindred lines of Este and Brunswick." 10 

Gibbon considers that Albert- Azo II. is entitled to 
be called Marquis or Duke of Genoa as well as of 
Milan. " Like one of his Tuscan ancestors Azo II. 
was distinguished amoug the princes of Italy by the 
epithet of the Rich. The particulars of his rent roll 
cannot now be ascertained; an occasional though 
authentic deed of investiture enumerates eighty-three 
fiefs or manors which he held of the empire in Lom- 
bardy and Tuscany, from the marquisate of Este to 
the county of Luni," 11 with many other rich posses- 
sions derived by inheritance or marriage. Gibbon 
states that the Marquis Azo II. lived beyond a hun- 
dred years ; " the last act which he subscribed is dated 
above a century after his birth." The elegant historian 
then proceeds : " In this prerogative of longevity, Al- 

10 Gibbon. ,l Ibid. 



294 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

bert- Azo II. stands alone ; nor can I recollect in the 
authentic annals of mortality a single example of a 
king or prince, of a statesman or general, of a philoso- 
pher or poet, whose life has been extended beyond the 
period of an hundred years. The Marquis of Este may 
be presumed, from his riches and longevity, to have 
understood the economy of health and fortune." 

The Marquis Albert-Azo II. was thrice married : 
his last wife was his cousin Matilda, from whom the 
stern Gregory VII., although his personal friend, 
obliged him to be divorced. The second wife was 
Garsenda, or Ermengarde (Lavoisne), daughter and 
heiress of the Count of Maine, by whom Azo had two 
sons, Hugo and Fulco ; from the latter are descended 
the dukes of Ferrara and Modena. But it is from 
the first marriage of Azo that the Dukes of Brunswick, 
and the present reigning family on the English throne 
are derived. " These nuptials were contracted with 
Cuniza, or Cunegonda, a German maid, whose an- 
cestors, for their nobility and riches, were distinguished 
among the Swabian and Bavarian chiefs ; whose bro- 
ther was invested with the duchy of Carinthia, and the 
marquisate of Verona, on the confines of the Venetian 
possessions of the House of Este. The marriage of 
Azo and Cunegonda was productive of a son, who 
received at his baptism the name of Guelph, to revive 
and perpetuate the memory of his uncle, his grand- 
father, and his first progenitors on the maternal side, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 295 

and became the founder of the eldest or German 
branch of the House of Este, from which the dukes of 
Brunswick, the electors of Hanover, and the Kings of 
Great Britain, are lineally descended." 12 

This first consort of Albert-Azo II. was the 
daughter of Guelph III., and sister and heir of 
Guelph IV., Duke of Bavaria, as noticed in the pre- 
ceding chapter. 13 The eldest son of this union between 
the two great families of Guelph and Este is styled 
by Gibbon "the fortunate Guelph," and an account 
of his marriage and descendants to Henry the Lion 
has been already given. 

Having derived Henry the Lion through the 
lines of Witikind, Guelph, Billing, and Este, 
we will in the next chapter carry down the unbroken 
descent of Her present Majesty from this her 
illustrious progenitor. 



Gibbon. 

Tasso alludes to this union of the two great houses : 
" Poi vedi, in guisa d'uom ch' onori ed ami, 
Ch'or l'e al fianco Azzo il quinto, or la seconda ; 
Ma d'Azzo il quarto in pixi felici rami 
Germogliava la prole alma e feconda. 
Va dove par che la Germania il chiami 
Guelfo il figliuol, figliuol di Cunigonda : 
E'l buon germe Roman con destro fato 
E ne' campi Bavarici traslato." 

Gerusalemme Liberata, Canto xvii. St. 79. 



296 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

'■ Hail ! Star of Brunswick." 

The Descent of Queen Victoria from Henry the 
Lion of Saxony. 

HENRY LEO, the greatest and most remarkable 
prince of Germany in the twelfth century, was 
only ten years old when he succeeded his father 
Henry Superbus, in 1139, and became the heir to 
a splendid inheritance, the accumulation of so many 
wealthy marriages ; his uncle Guelph, Prince of Tus- 
cany, was a faithful guardian during Henry's minority. 
Henry endeavoured to obtain the duchy of Bavaria 
from the Emperor Conrad, without avail ; it was, 
however, bestowed upon him afterwards by the Empe- 
ror Frederick Barbarossa, who was a near kinsman to 
Henry Leo, 1 who had rendered him very important 
services, and on one occasion rescued his imperial 



1 The father of Frederick Barbarossa, Frederick, Duke of 
Swabia, married Judith, daughter of Henry the Black, grand- 
father of Henry the Lion. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 297 

friend from under the feet of the enemy's cavalry. 
Henry obtained also the county of Hanover, and large 
possessions on the Hartz. By means of such heredi- 
tary and acquired property, Henry the Lion became 
the most powerful prince in the German empire, his 
sway extending over a territory in breadth from the 
Elbe to the Rhine, and in length from the German 
ocean to the confines of Italy, comprising more than 
the half of Germany. His power and ambition excited 
the fears and jealousy of the other princes and even 
of the Emperor himself, to whose assistance he refused 
to march in his Italian wars, and who stripped him of 
his dominions ; when Henry was forced to retire to 
England. During his stay at the court of Henry II. 
he married that monarch's eldest daughter, Matilda 
Plantagenet, 2 by whom he had four sons, and a 
daughter, Maud or Mechild, who married Henry 
Burewin I., Prince of the Wen den ; 3 the sons were, 
1. Henry, surnamed Longus, of Zell, who became 
Palatine, from whom descended the families of the 

2 Henry Leo's first wife was Clementia, daughter of Conrad, 
Duke of Zarnigen, by whom he had a daughter, Richenza, first 
married to Frederick, son of the Emperor Conrad, who died of 
the plague at Rome ; she married secondly, Canute, son of 
Waldemar I., King of Denmark. 

3 From this marriage descended the House of Meclenburg, 
and Sophia Charlotte, the queen of George III. See Table 
XXXII. Her Present Majesty is consequently derived in a 
double descent from Henry the Lion of Saxony. 



298 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Palatinate, of Bavaria, and Baden, and Frederick the 
unfortunate King of Bohemia, husband of Elizabeth 
Stuart; 2. Otho, afterwards emperor; 4 3. William, 
surnamed of Winchester, his birth-place, the ancestor 
of the House of Brunswick; and 4. Luderus, or 
Luther (a frequent name among the German princes)' 
who died 1191. By the intercession of the King of 
England with the Emperor, Henry the Lion had 
restored to him Brunswick and Lunenburg ; he died 
at Brunswick, in 1195, his consort Matilda having 
died in 1187, or 1190 according to Glover. Henry 
Leo's son Otho had Brunswick, and William received 
Lunenburg. William of Winchester, called also 
Longsword, was born in 1184, and he is said to have 
been created the first Duke of Lunenburg (some say 
Brunswick), by his brother, the Emperor Otho IV. 
William of Winchester was one of the hostages for 
the payment of the ransom of his royal uncle, Richard 
Cceur-de-lion. In 1205 he made a campaign in Hun- 



4 Otho, Duke of Brunswick, was set up by the Pope in 1198, 
as a candidate for the Imperial dignity against Philip, son of 
Frederick Barbarossa; hut a compromise was effected by Otho 
marrying Philip's daughter Beatrice, and Otho succeeded in 
1208 to the empire ; but being signally defeated by Philip Au- 
gustus at the great battles of Bouvines and Tournay, he was 
deprived of the empire in 1218, by Frederick II. King- of Sicily, 
grandson of Barbarossa. He died in 1218, never having given 
up the Imperial insignia. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 299 

gary, and, being taken prisoner, was obliged to ransom 
himself for a large sum ; he died in 1213, leaving by 
his consort Helen, daughter of Waldemar I., King 
of Denmark, an only son, born 1204, called Otho 
Puer, or the Young, to distinguish him from his 
uncle. At the death of his uncle Henry Longus, 
without surviving male issue, in 1227, Otho Puer 
laid claim to the duchy of Brunswick, which had been 
bequeathed by Henry to his two daughters, and by 
them sold to the Emperor Frederick II. ; Otho took 
the town of Brunswick by storm, and soon after, the 
Pope Gregory IX. offered to crown him Emperor in 
the place of Frederick II., who had been excommuni- 
cated. This offer was rejected by Otho, who declared 
that his opposition to the Emperor was only with the 
intent of recovering his own right. Frederick was so 
pleased with this disinterested conduct, that he erected 
Otho's dominions into a duchy, who thenceforth be- 
came Duke of Brunswick- Lunenburg. Otho Puer 
died in 1252, having had by his wife Matilda, 
daughter of Albert II., Elector of Brandenburg, 
five sons and five daughters, one of the latter, Matilda, 
married William, Emperor of Germany (of the House 
of Holland) : the surviving sons of Otho Puer, 5 were 
Albert, and John ; 6 the former gave Lunenburg to 



5 Conrad, fourth son, lived to 1303, he was Bishop of Verden. 

6 John, Duke of Lunenburg, died in 1277, leaving a son 



300 ANCESTRY Of QUEEN VICTORIA 

his brother in 1269. At the early age of sixteen, 
Albert, at the head of the Bohemians and Bruns- 
wickers, gave battle to the Hungarian army, consist- 
ing of two hundred thousand men (double his number), 
took their king prisoner, and gave a total overthrow 
to the whole body, with an almost incredible loss to 
them. In 1258, he took the fortress of Asseburg, 
after three years' siege, and joined the estates of that 
family to those of the House of Brunswick ; he also 
conquered Wolfenbuttel. In 1263 he was taken pri- 
soner by Henry the Illustrious, Margrave of Misnia, 
and had to purchase his liberty by a ransom of 80,000 
silver marks, and the surrender of eight important 
castles. Albert, who for his valour was surnamed 
the Great, died in 1279, and had by his second wife, 
Adelheid, the daughter of Boniface III., Marquis 
of Montferrat, 7 one daughter, Matilda, married to 



called Otho the Strong, who was succeeded by his son William, 
in 1330, who dying in 1369, left two daughters, Maud, the 
youngest, who married Lewis, son of Magnus the Old, grandson 
of Albert tbe Great; the eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married 
Otho, Duke of Saxony, and had two daughters, Anne, and 
Margaret, who became the wives of their cousins, the Emperor 
Frederick, and Bernard, Duke of Saxony, the sons of Magnus 
Torquatus, to whom the Duke William, having no male issue, 
had bequeathed Lunenburg. 

7 Grandson of Boniface II., Marquis of Montferrat, a princi- 
pal leader in the fourth crusade, and one of the conquerors of 
Acre in a former crusade. Boniface II. was a candidate for 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 301 

Eric VI., King of Denmark ; and six sons, of whom 
Luther and Conrad were knights of Saint John the 
Baptist, and Otto a Knight Templar ; the other three 
sons were, Henry, Albert, and William, among 
whom their father, at his death in 1279, divided his 
dominions. The eldest, Henry, called the Wonderful, 
received Grubenhagen, with a third part of the spiri- 
tualities of Brunswick, and several towns; his race 
became extinct by the death of Philip II., thirteenth 
duke of Grubenhagen in 1595. William, the younger 
son, had the cities of Brunswick and Wolfenbuttel, 
Gebbershagen and Gandesheim, with a third of the 
spiritualities ; he died without issue in 1292, when his 
possessions came to his brother, Albert Pinguis, 
who had received from his father, Gottingen, the 
county of Northeim, the towns of Minden, Neideck, 
Ottensburg, &c. He married Richenza, daughter 
of Henry, Prince of Wenden, by whom he had 
two daughters, unmarried, and eight sons : 1. Ernest, 
who obtained Gottingen, which remained in his pos- 
terity until 1463 ; 2. Albert, and 3. Henry, who were 
ecclesiastics ; 4. Bruno, who died in his father's life- 



the Imperial throne of Constantinople, and was generously the 
first to hail his successful rival Baldwin I. He was sixth in 
lineal descent from Aledrano, created first Marquis in 938, 
whose wife was Gerberge, daughter of Adalbert, King of Italy, 
fourth in descent from Eberard, Count of Friuli, who married 
Gisla, daughter of Louis le Debonair. 



302 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

time ; 5. Luderus, or Luther, Grand Master of Teu- 
tonic Knights in Prussia, who died in 1334 ; 6. John, 
who succeeded his brother as Grand Master ; 7. Otto, 
who died in 1334, without issue; and 8. Magnus 
the Pious, who became Duke of Brunswick. Albert 
Pinguis died in 1318. 

Magnus Pius, and sometimes called the Old y 
married Sophia, daughter of Henry, Margrave of 
Brandenburg, 8 and by her had four sons and four 
daughters. He died in 1368^ having acquired by his 
marriage, Landberg, Sangerhausen, and Petersberg. 

The family line was continued by his youngest son, 
Magnus, surnamed Torquatus, from his wearing a 
silver chain about his neck to secure himself, as he 
said, from the indignity of being hanged in a less 
valuable binding. In 1373, in making war upon the 
Count of Schaumberg, Magnus was run through the 
body by one of the Count's soldiers, and killed upon 
the spot. He married Catherine, daughter of 
Waldemar I., Elector of Brandenburg, by whom he 
had five daughters and four sons : 1. the Emperor 
Frederick, who joined Wolf enbuttel to Brunswick, and 
died 1400, without issue ; 2. Otto, Bishop of Bremen ; 
3. Bernard ; and 4. Henry, who reigned jointly for 
nine years, at the end of which time the estates were 



8 His father was John I., Margrave of Brandenburg, whose 
sister Matilda married Otho Puer Duke of Brunswick. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. -303 

divided, when Bernard had Lunenburg, and Henry 
received Brunswick, which remained in his descend- 
ants until 1634. Bernard greatly enlarged his 
possessions ; he purchased the county of Homburgh, 
obtained the city of Ultzen, and conquered Schnack- 
enburg. He married Margaret, daughter of Otho, 
Duke of Saxony, and Elizabeth, daughter and co- 
heir of William, Duke of Lunenburg, by whom he 
had one daughter, Catherine, and two sons ; the eldest 
was Otto, surnamed the Warrior, who succeeded, in 
1434, his father as Duke of Lunenburg, and obtained 
the county of Eberstein by marrying Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter and heiress of Herman, Count of Eberstein. Otto 
died in 1445, without issue, when he was succeeded 
by his brother Frederick. 

Frederick, surnamed the Pious, or the Just, 
married Magdalen, daughter of Frederick I., 
Elector of Brandenburg, by whom he had a daugh- 
ter Margaret, and two sons, Bernard II. and Otho. 
Frederick in 1459 retired to a monastery at Zelle, 
leaving the cares of government to his eldest son, who, 
dying without issue in 1464, was succeeded in the 
duchy of Lunenburg by his brother. 

Otho, called the Magnanimous, who in a few 
years acquired the glory of an old warrior, married in 
1467, Ann, Countess of Nassau, Vianden, and Dietz> 
by whom he had two sons, Henry, and William, who 
were left too young for government at their fathers 
x 



304 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

death in 1471, whereupon their grandfather Frederick 
emerged from his retirement, and took the manage- 
ment of the duchy for his grandchildren till his death 
in 1478. William died in 1480. 

Henry, called Junior, born 1468, was engaged in 
several wars against his cousins, Henry Senior, and 
Eric I., Dukes of Brunswick, over whom he gained a 
victory in 1519, when Eric, and William, brother of 
Henry Senior, were taken prisoners ; and when the 
Emperor, Charles V., demanded their release, Henry 
Junior refused to comply, and in consequence he was 
put to the ban of the empire, when he resigned his 
government to his children. His wife was Marga- 
ret, daughter of Ernest, Elector of Saxony, by 
whom he had five sons, and three daughters : he died 
in 1532. The fourth son, Ernest, and the fifth, 
Francis, signed the famous Augsburg confession ; the 
latter died in 1549, universally lamented. 

Ernest, surnamed the Pious, was born Jan. 16th, 
1497, and succeeded to Zelle upon the abdication of 
his father. He declared himself in favour of the Re- 
formation, and recommended the Lutheran doctrine 
to his subjects, without attempting to compel their 
assent ; and in the greater part of his dominions it 
became the adopted faith. Ernest's exertions chiefly 
prevented the execution of the ban of the empire 
against Luther ; and at the diet held at Augsburg in 
1530, Ernest, was one of the princes who made their 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 305 

Protestant confessions of faith. After the diet 
was closed, the protestants found it necessary to unite 
their forces, and entered into an alliance of so exten- 
sive a nature that they became, with regard to any 
hostilities their enemies might commit, but one people. 
This confederacy was to last for five years, and was 
at the expiration of that term renewed for ten years 
more. Ernest was one of the chiefs upon this occa- 
sion, and indeed must be reckoned one of the first and 
principal reformers. He died Jan. 11th, 1546, leaving 
the character of a pious, steady, and valiant prince. 
By his wife Sophia, daughter of Henry, Duke of 
Mecklenburg, he had four sons and six daughters. 
Of the former, two only had issue : Henry, who founded 
the House of Wolfenbuttel, and from whom descended 
the Emperor Leopold I., and the reigning house of 
Austria; the other son, William of Zell, carried 
on the line of Lunenburg. He reigned at first jointly 
for ten years with his brother, who then resigned his 
share to William, whose reign continued for twenty- 
three years over Lunenburg. He was a zealous friend 
of the Reformation, and he published a creed for the 
subscription of candidates for holy orders. He died 
in 1592, having had fifteen children by his wife 
Dorothy, daughter of Christian III., King of 
Denmark. Of the eight daughters, the eldest, 
Sophia, married George Frederick, Margrave of 
Brandenburg ; Elizabeth, the second, married Frede- 



306 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

rick, Count of Hohenloe ; Margaret, the sixth, married 
John Casimer, Duke of Saxe-Coburg ; and Sibilla, 
the youngest, became the wife of Julius Ernest, Duke 
of Danneberg. The seven sons of Duke William 
were, Ernest, Christian, Augustus, Frederick, Mag- 
nus, George, and John, who, as before observed, 
agreed that only one of their number should marry, 
when the sixth son, George, obtained the advantage 
in the casting of lots. The brothers were however to 
enjoy the duchy according to seniority ; of them, John 
died in 1628, and Magnus, in 1632, the eldest, Ernest, 
who succeeded his father, died in 1611, when his next 
brother, Christian, became duke, and at his death in 
1 633, Augustus succeeded to the duchy of Lunenburg ; 
he died in 1636, when Frederick, the fourth brother, 
became duke, at whose death in 1648, his dominions 
were inherited by his nephews, the sons of George, 
the only brother who was allowed to marry. George, 
the sixth son of William of Zell, learned the art of 
war under Prince Maurice of Nassau, and became a 
general in the service of his nephew Christian IV., 
King of Denmark, then at war with Charles IX. of 
Sweden. He died in 1641, from the effects of poison, 
having by his consort Ann Eleanor, daughter of 
Lewis V. Landgrave of Hesse-Darmsdadt, four 
sons and four daughters. 9 To prevent any alterca- 

9 Of the daughters only one reached maturity, namely, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 307 

tion among his sons, he settled by will the succession : 
to Christian Lewis, the eldest, he left the principalities 
of Zelle and Grubenhagen ; and to George William, 
his second son, he left Calenburg; and if either of 
these should die without issue, John Frederick, the 
third son, was to supply his place, and so on to Ernest 
Augustus, the fourth son. The three eldest sons 
dying without male issue, the principalities were re- 
united in the person of the youngest. 10 

Ernest Augustus became Bishop of Osnaburg 
in 1662, agreeable to the terms of the peace of West- 
phalia, whereby the House of Brunswick obtained the 
alternate succession to that bishopric ; the citizens, 
who had behaved in a refractory manner to his prede- 
cessors, and more than once disclaimed all obedience 



Sophia Amelia, who married her kinsman, Frederick III. King 
of Denmark, by whom she was mother of Christian V. 

10 Christian Lewis died in 1665 without issue, and was suc- 
ceeded in Zelle by his brother, George William, a great general, 
who gained a signal victory over Marshal Crequi in 1675. He 
was on intimate terms of friendship with AVilliam, Prince of 
Orange, afterwards King of England, who, out of regard to him, 
exerted himself to procure the succession to be settled on the 
line of Brunswick. George William died in the eighty-second 
year of his age, 1705, beloved by his subjects, leaving by his 
wife Eleanora, daughter of Alexander D'Olbreuse, an only 
daughter, Sophia Dorothy, who became the consort of her cou 
sin, George I. of England. John Frederick died in 1679, leav- 
ing only daughters, one of whom, Amelia, married the Emperor 
Joseph I. 



308 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

to their prelates, immediately submitted to him ; which 
singular mark of their esteem induced him to take 
up his residence at Osnaburg. On his accession to 
Hanover, he abolished the custom of dividing the 
patrimonial inheritance, and established the right of 
primogeniture. His services against the Turks and 
French were considered so important, that he was 
raised by the Emperor, in 1692, to the rank of 
Elector of Hanover. By his marriage with the 
Princess Sophia, daughter of the King and Queen 
of Bohemia, and granddaughter of James I., Ernest 
was father of George Lewis, who, on the death of 
Queen Anne, became first King of England of the 
House of Brunswick. The alliances and descent 
of this illustrious House to Her present Majesty 
have already been given in Chapter XIX. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 309 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

" Count Witikind came of a regal strain." 

SIR WALTER SCOTT. 

The Descent of Frederick the Grave of Saxe- 
Gotha, from Witikind the Great, and from 
Alfred the Great. 

SEVERAL accounts have been published of the 
ancestors of Prince Albert, and, amongst 
them, one by Mr. Frederick Shoberl, to which the 
reader is referred ; but in none, is His Royal Highness 
traced to the Anglo-Saxon progenitors of Her Majesty; 
it will be the object of this chapter to endeavour to 
make out a clear and uninterrupted pedigree from 
Alfred the Great to her Majesty's consort, as well 
as from Witikind. In Chapter XXL, Queen Vic- 
toria's descent is shown from Witikind's eldest son, 
Wigbert ; the House of Saxe-Gotha derives from a 
son by a second marriage (viz. with Suatania, daugh- 
ter of Zechius, a prince in Bohemia), Witikind II., 
who became Count of Wettin, and who died in 825, 



310 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

leaving two sons, the eldest, Witikind III., is supposed 
by some writers (Collins among the number), to be 
the ancestor of the Capetian Kings of France ; the 
second son, Dietgremmus, succeeded as Count of 
Wettin, and by his wife Bossena, daughter and heir 
of the Count of Pleissen, left a son, Ditmarus, 
who died in 933, father of Theodoric I., who married 
Judith of Nursberg, by whom he had Dedo II., 
whose wife was Titburga of Brandenburg, their 
son, Theodoric II., succeeded to Wettin in 1019, and 
married Mathildis, daughter and heir of Echard 
I., third Margrave of Misnia, descended from 
Dietgremmus. On the death of Theodoric II., in 1034, 
his son Thimo became Margrave of Misnia; his wife 
was Itha of Bavaria, daughter of Duke Otto, son 
of Sigfrid II., Count of Northeim, descended from 
the eldest son of Witikind the Great." Thimo died 
in 1091, leaving a son, Conrad, called the Pious, 
who was Margrave of Misnia, and of Lower Lusa- 
tia ; he lived to the year 1156, having married 
Luitgarde, daughter of Frederick of Hohen- 
staufen, Duke of Swabia, whose wife was Agnes 
of Franconia, daughter of the Emperor Henry 
IV. 12 Conrad had several sons, of whom the eldest, 
Otto, called the Rich, succeeded to Misnia; he 

11 See Table XXII. 

12 The Emperor Henry IV. was sixth in descent from the 
Emperor Otho and Edittia, granddaughter of Ali reij the Great, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 311 

married Hedwige, daughter of Albert the Bear, 
Margrave of Brandenburg, whose wife was Sophia, 
of the House of Hohenstaufen. Otto died in 
1189, leaving two sons, Albert, who died in 1195, 
and Dietrich, or Theodoric, who became Margrave 
of Misnia, and who married his cousin Judith, 
daughter and heiress of Lewis II., Landgrave of 
Thuringia, by Judith, daughter of Conrad III., 
Emperor of Germany, who was son of Frederick 
of Hohenstaufen. Dietrich died in 1220, accord- 
ing to Jacob, or poisoned in 1222, according to Sho- 
berl, and his youngest son, Henry the Illustrious, 
became in right of his mother, Landgrave of Thu- 
ringia, and Margrave of Misnia, from his father. He 
was a very powerful prince, and successful in his 
undertakings. His wife was Constance, daughter 
of Leopold VI., Duke of Austria, who was a 
descendant of the Emperor Otho and Editha of Eng- 
land. Henry died in 1287-8, having previously divi- 
ded his dominions with his three sons. The eldest, 
Albert, called the Froward, obtained Thuringia, 
and married Margaret, daughter of the Emperor 
Frederick II., and, as observed in a former chapter, 
she was daughter, according to the historian Speed, of 

He was son of Henry III., called the Black, whose father was 
Conrad II., surnamed the Salic, son of Henry, Duke of Fran- 
conia, whose father, Otho, also Duke, was son of Ludolph, the 
son of Otho and Editha of England. 



312 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the Emperor's sixth wife, Isabel, the daughter of 
John, King of England ; this statement, if correct, 
strengthens the descent of Prince Albert from the 
Anglo-Saxon rulers of England. Speed's statement 
is confirmed by Sandford. Albert the Froward, who 
died in 1314, left children by Margaret (who died in 
1270), of whom, Frederick I. carried on the line 
by his wife Agnes, daughter of Mainhard, Duke 
of Carinthia ; he had a son, Frederick, called the 
Grave, who succeeded his father in 1324. 

Having traced Frederick the Grave by the father's 
side from Witikind the Great, it now becomes neces- 
sary to trace him by the mother's side from Alfred 
the Great. Frederick's grandmother was the 
daughter of Herman VI., Margrave of Baden, 
whose wife was Gertrude, daughter of Henry of 
Austria, who died in the life-time of his father Leo- 
pold VI., Duke of Austria, son of Leopold V., 
whose father, Henry II., first bore the title of Duke 
of Austria ; he was son of Leopold III. and Itha, 
daughter of the Emperor Henry III., the son of 
Conrad the Salic, whose father Henry, was son of 
Otho, Duke of Franconia, the son of Conrad, Duke 
of Lorraine and Luitgarde, the daughter of the 
Emperor Otho I., by Editha of England, daughter of 
Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great. 13 

13 " Edgith, the sixth daughter of King Edward, and the fifth 
of Queene Elfleda, was the first wife of Otho the first, surnamed 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 313 

By the foregoing brief description it will be seen, 
therefore, that Frederick the Grave is descended 
from Edward the Elder by several channels : I. 
by his grandfather's marriage with the granddaughter 
of King John ; II. it is admitted on all hands that 
the wife of Frederick's grandfather Albert, was the 
daughter of the Emperor Frederick II., who was a 
lineal descendant of the Emperor Otho, by Edward 
the Elder's daughter Editha ; III. the mother of Fre- 
derick the Grave was equally derived from them ; 
IV. the mother of his great grandfather was also a 
lineal descendant; V. the wife of Henry the Illus- 
trious, Constance, was likewise through the Dukes 
of Austria, another lineal descendant. If, therefore, 
the derivation of Frederick the Grave can be esta- 
blished from Alfred the Great, that of His Royal 
Highness Prince Albert must be granted, since his 
descent from Frederick admits of no dispute. This 
will be given in the next chapter. 



the Great, Emperor of the West, son to the Emperor Henry f 
surnamed the Falconer. By him she had issue Ludolfe, Duke 
of Swabe, William, Arch-bishop of Mentz, Ludgard married to 
Conrad, Duke of Lorrayn, and Metchild, Abbesse of Quedling- 
burg in Saxonie." Speed, Book VII. Chap, xxxvii. 



314 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



CHAPTER XXV. 

" Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair 
As any comer I have looked on yet 
For my affection." shakspeare. 

The Line continued from Frederick the Grave 
to H.R. H. Prince Albert. 

FREDERICK II., called the Grave, or the Severe, 
was only fifteen years of age when he succeeded 
his father. He married in 1329, Mechild, or Ma- 
tilda, daughter of the Emperor Louis V., the Bava- 
rian, Frederick joined Edward III. of England with 
a considerable force against the French. He died in 
1349, and was succeeded by his son, Frederick III., 
surnamed the Strong, who married Catherine, 
daughter and heir of Henry, Count of Henneberg, 
by which alliance he added the district and town of 
Coburg to the family possessions. 1 He died in 
1380. The eldest son, Frederick IV., called the 
Warlike, was in 1422 created Elector of Saxony 



Shoberl's House of Saxony. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 315 

by the Emperor Sigismund. He married Catherine, 
daughter of Henry, Duke of Brunswick? by whom 
he had two sons, Frederick and William, who at their 
father's death in 1428 reigned jointly, but made a 
partition in 1445. William died without male issue 
in 1483, when his nephews inherited his estates. 

The eldest son of Frederick the Warlike, Fre- 
derick called the Mild, from his benevolent disposi- 
tion, married Margaret, daughter of Ernest called 
Ironsides, Archduke of Austria, a descendant of 
Rodolph of Hapsburg ; by her he had two sons, 
Ernest and Albert, who at their father's death, in 
1464, reigned jointly until twenty years afterwards, 
when they made a partition, by which Ernest retained 
the electoral dignity with Thuringia, and Albert had 
Misnia. From Henry, the second son of Albert, is 
descended the present Royal House of Saxony. 

Ernest, the eldest son of Frederick the Mild, is 
the immediate ancestor of Her Majesty and of Prince 
Albert. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Al- 
bert III., Duke of Bavaria-Munich, whose wife 

2 As Henry, Duke of Brunswick, descended from Henry the 
Lion of Saxony and Matilda Plantagenet, is an ancestor of Prince 
Albert, another link is thus afforded to the chain of evidence of 
the derivation of his Royal Highness from the Anglo-Saxon 
ancestors of his illustrious consort. Henry was at the head of 
what is called the "Ancient House of Brunswick," and was the 
third son of Magnus Torquatus. See Table XXVI. 



316 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

was Anne of Brunswick ; by her he was father of 
his successor, in 1486, Frederick the Wise, and of 
John, surnamed the Constant, who were, to their 
immortal honour, the firm friends of Luther. Frede- 
rick the Wise, in 1502, founded the University of 
Wittenburg, wherein the great reformer was educated : 
in 1519, at the death of Maximilian the Emperor, the 
imperial crown was offered to Frederick, who declined 
it. He died in 1525, and was succeeded as Elector 
of Saxony by his brother. 

John the Constant was at the head of the princes 
of Germany who made their famous protestant confes- 
sion of faith, and Prince Albert has frequently alluded 
with becoming pride to his descent from so illustrious 
a friend of the Reformation. John the Constant, 
who died in 1532, married Sophia, daughter of 
Magnus, Duke of Mecklenburg, by whom he was 
father of his successor John Frederick I., who also 
took his father's place as head of the Protestant 
League, and in a battle fought in 1547, he was taken 
prisoner by the Emperor Charles V., who, on the 
Elector's refusal to recant his protestant principles, 
deprived him of all his dominions, and kept him a close 
prisoner for five years. His consort was Sybilla, 
who died before him, the daughter of John III., Duke 
of Cleves ; by her he had two sons, John Frederick 
II., who endeavouring to recover the dominions of 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 317 

which his father had been stripped, lost his own liberty ; 
he died in 1595, leaving two sons, who died without 
issue. John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 
second son of John Frederick, married Dorothy 
Susanna, daughter of Frederick III., Elector 
Palatine, by whom he had two sons, Frederick 
William, first Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and John, 
second Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Gotha, whose 
wife was Dorothy Maria, daughter of Joachim 
Ernest, Prince of Anhalt, by whom he had seven 
sons. He died in 1605. Ernest, called the Pious, 
Duke of Saxe-Gotha, was the seventh son of John, 
Duke of Saxe-Weimar ; he married his cousin 
Elizabeth Sophia, daughter of John Philip, 
Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, by whom he had seven 
sons and two daughters. 3 The eldest, Frederick, 
Duke of Saxe-Gotha, by his wife Magdalen 
Sybilla, daughter of Augustus, Duke of Saxe- 
Halle, was father of Frederick II., Duke of Saxe- 
Gotha, who married Magdalen Augusta, daugh- 
ter of Charles William, Prince of Anhalt- 



3 The third son of Ernest was Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Mein- 
ingen, who died in 1706, and his third son, Antony Ullrick, who 
died in 1763, was father of George Frederick Charles, at whose 
death in 1803, the present Duke Bernard succeeded, whose 
sisters are, Adelaide, Queen Dowager of England, and Ida, who 
is married to Charles Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. 



318 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Zerbst, and their fifteenth child was Augusta, who, 
by her marriage with Frederick, Prince of Wales, 
became mother of George III. 4 

Prince Albert is derived from Ernest the 
Pious, through his seventh son, John Ernest, Duke 
of Saxe-Saalfeld, who by his second wife, Char- 
lotte Jane, daughter of Josias, Count of Wal- 
deck, was father of Francis Josias, also a seventh 
son, who became Duke of Saxe-Coburg ; he died 
in 1760, 5 and was succeeded by his son, Ernest 
Frederick, whose wife was Sophia Antoinette 
of Brunswick, 6 a descendant of Henry the Lion, 
and Maud Plantagenet, by whom he had a son, 
Francis Frederick Anthony, who succeeded as 
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, in 1800, and 
who, by his second wife, Augusta Sophia, daughter 



4 The alliances of the House of Saxe-Gotha are derived from 
the voluminous work of the Rev. Alex. Jacob, who was chaplain 
to George III., and also to the Duke of Chandos, to whom he 
was related. 

5 Besides his successor, he had three sons and two daughters : 
of the latter, Sophiamarried the Duke of Mecklenhurg-Schwerin, 
and Amelia married the Margrave of Brandenburg.Anspach. 
The sons, Christian, Adolphus, and Frederick Josias, were dis- 
tinguished soldiers. 

6 Her father was Ferdinand Albert, Duke of Bevern, whose 
father, Augustus (grandson of Ernest of Zell), inherited Bruns- 
wick on the death of Frederick Ulric, the last of the " Ancient 
House of Brunswick." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 319 

of Henry XXIV., Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf, 
had several children ; 1. his successor, the present 
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the father of 
Prince Albert ; 2. Sophia Frederica, who married 
the Count of Mensdorf ; 7 3. Juliana, who married the 
late Grand Duke Constantine ; 4. Ferdinand, whose 
eldest son, Ferdinand, is married to the Queen of 
Portugal ; 5. Maria Louisa Victoria, Duchess 
of Kent, the mother of Our Most Gracious Sovereign 
Queen Victoria ; 6. Leopold, whose first wife was 
the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and who is now King 
of the Belgians. 

Prince Albert's father, Ernest Anthony Charles 
Lewis, the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saal- 
feld, succeeded his father in 1806, and by his first 
wife and cousin, Dorothy Louisa, daughter of 
Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, by Louisa 
Charlotte, the daughter of Frederick, Duke of 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, he was father of Ernest 
Augustus Charles, hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg- 
Saalfeld, and of Albert Francis Augustus 
Charles Emanuel, born August 26th, 1819, who 
was married February 10th, 1840, to his first cousin, 
Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, and the 
result of this union of real affection, was the birth of 



7 A second daughter should he here inserted, who married 
the Duke of Wirtemburg. 

Y 



320 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

a daughter, November 21, 1840, who was named 
Victoria after her illustrious mother, her other 
names being- Adelaide, after the Queen Dowager, 
Mary, after Her Royal Highness the Duchess of 
Gloucester, and Louisa, after Her Royal Highness 
the Duchess of Kent, and also after the Queen of the 
Belgians, who were the sponsors of the royal child. 

It remains now to notice some of the noble families 
of our own country, which have intermarried with 
the Royal Houses of England, and from whom Her 
Majesty is descended. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 321 






CHAPTER XXVI. 

" Roger of Clare, then earle of Gloucester, 
That in Englande was none his better." 

HARDYNG. 

" Red De Clare, stout Gloster's Earl." marmion. 

" This tattered ensign of my ancestors 
Which swept the desert shore of that dead sea, 
Whereof we got the name of Mortimer/' 

KIT MARLOWE'S PLAY OF EDWARD II. 

The Houses of De Clare, De Burg, and 
Mortimer. 

EDWARD IV. was descended from the great 
Houses of Mortimer, De Burg, and De 
Clare. Lionel, Duke of Clarence, married Eliza- 
beth, heiress of William de Burg, Earl of Ulster, 
whose mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert 
de Clare and the Princess Joan of Acre. Phi- 
lippa, daughter of Lionel, by her marriage with 
Edmund Mortimer, conveyed the title to the throne 
of England into that family, in right of whom Ed- 
ward IV., their great grandson, obtained the crown. 
As these three families formed many great alliances, 



322 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

and made a considerable figure in the history of their 
country, some account of their origin may be accept- 
able. 

I. The House of De Clare derives from Richard 
I., Duke of Normandy, whose son Geoffrey was 
father of Gislebert, or Gilbert de Crespon, Earl of 
Brionne in Normandy ; his son, Richard-Fitz-Gil- 
bert, accompanied the Conqueror to England, and 
for the aid he supplied towards the invasion, and for 
his services at and after the battle of Hastings, he was 
rewarded with several lordships, and was created by 
William, Earl of Clare in the county of Suffolk. 1 
He married Rose, or Rohesia, daughter of Walter 
Giffard, Earl of Longueville, and Earl of Bucking- 
ham, whose father of the same name and titles was 
one of William's great captains in Normandy, where 
he defeated King Henry of France ; he likewise 
brought to the assistance of his kinsman, 2 the Con- 

1 Richard Fitz-Gilbert is often called, by Hume and other 
writers, Richard de Bienfaite, from a lordship of that name 
which he possessed in Normandy. He was also Grand Jus- 
ticiary of England, co-jointly with William de Warrenne. A 
daughter of Richard de Bienfaite married William Montfitchet, 
son of Gilbert de Montfitchet, who accompanied the Conqueror, 
and their descendant was one of the twenty-five barons of 
Magna Cbarta. 

2 The mother of the first Walter Giffard was Dunerina, a 
sister of Gunora, the duchess of Richard the Fearless. The 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 323 

queror, " XXX ships and C men-at-arms" at the 
invasion, and for his services he was created Earl of 
Buckingham, and Marshal of England. 3 

Richard Fitz-Gilbert 4 died in the reign of Henry I., 
although his death is placed by some writers in 1090, 
and was succeeded in the earldom of Clare by his son, 
Gilbert de Clare, who is often called de Tonbruce, 
or Tunbridge, from his having obtained the castle of 
that name from the archbishop of Canterbury in ex- 
change for the castle of Brionne in Normandy. He 
became Lord Marshal of England, and by his marriage 
with Isabel de Bellomonte or Beaumont, 5 daughter 
of Robert, Earl of Leicester, he had a son, 
Richard de Clare, who was Earl of Clare, and of 
Hertford; he was also Earl Marshal, and Earl of 
Pembroke, and is often mentioned in history as 
Richard Strongbow, and Earl of Strigul. He was 
the chief instrument of establishing the English con- 



arms borne by Walter Giffard were, " Gules, three lions passant 
argent." glover and heylin. 

3 Edmondson. 

4 Richard Fitz-Gilbert's fifth son Robert, was Steward to 
Henry I.; he married a daughter of the famous Waltheof and 
the Conqueror's niece Judith, and their son Walter Fitz-Robert 
was father of Robert Fitz- Walter, one of the twenty-five barons 
of Magna Charta. 

5 The arms of Bellomonte were, " Gules, a cinquefoil ermine, 
pierced of the field." heylin. 



324 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

quest in Ireland ; he married Eva, daughter of Der- 
mot M c Carty More, Lord of Leinster, 6 by 
whom he had a daughter, Isabel, 7 married to the 
celebrated Protector, William Marshal, Earl of Pem- 
broke (whose five sons were successively Earls Mar- 
shal), and two sons, Gilbert de Clare, who succeeded 
his father as Earl of Clare and Hertford, and Roger 
de Clare, to whom those honours fell at his brother's 
death without issue. 

Roger de Clare, called the Good Earl, was 
summoned by Beeket, when he became primate, to 
do homage for Tunbridge. He married Maud, 8 
daughter and heir of James de Saint Hillary, by 
whom he was father of Richard de Clare, sixth 
Earl of Clare, and distinguished in history as one of 

6 By some authors he is called Mac Morrough, and styled 
King of Leinster. 

7 Mr. Moore, in his History of Ireland, states that Richard 
Stronghow left " an only child Isabel, heiress of all his vast 
possessions, and afterwards married to William Mareschal, Earl 
of Pembroke." Lord Lyttleton mentions that he left a son and 
daughter. But most genealogists agree that he had two sons, 
as stated above. 

8 Maud, after Earl Roger's death, married William de Albe- 
ney, Earl of Arundel (son of William de Albeney by Queen 
Adelais, widow of Henry I.), by whom she was mother of Wil- 
liam and Hugh, succeeding Earls of Arundel, and of four daugh- 
ters, of whom the second, Isabel, co-heir to her brother Hugh, 
conveyed the castle and honour of Arundel, as her share, to 
John Fitz-alan, whom she married. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 325 

the Twenty-Five Barons appointed to enforce tjie 
observance of Magna Charta. He died in 1218, 
having married Amicia, daughter, and at length sole 
heir of William, second Earl of Gloucester, 9 by 
whom he had his son and successor in the earldoms 
of Clare and Hertford, Gilbert de Clare, who was 
also, in right of his mother, Earl of Gloucester. He 
too was one of the celebrated twenty -five barons of 
the Great Charter. His wife was his cousin Isabel, 
third daughter of the loyal William Marshal, 
Earl of Pembroke, 10 by whom he was father of 
Richard de Clare, Earl of Clare, of Hertford, and 
Gloucester, who makes a very conspicuous figure in 
the stormy reign of Henry III., and was a great rival 
to the ambitious Earl of Leicester. His first wife was 
Margaret, daughter of Hubert de Burg, Earl of Kent, 
but by her he had no issue, and he married secondly, 
Matilda, daughter of John de Lacy, Earl of 
Lincoln, 11 by whom he was father of the ninth Earl 
of Clare, Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red 



9 The arms of William, Earl of Gloucester were, " Gules, three 
rests or." heylin. 

10 The arms borne by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, 
were, " Party per pale, or and vert, a lion rampant gules, armed 
and langued azure." heylin and sandford. 

11 John de Lacy bore for arms, " Or, a lion rampant purpure." 
Heylin and Glover. His wife was Margaret daughter and 
heiress of Robert de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. 



326 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Earl, one of the most opulent and powerful nobles of 
the time. His first wife was Alice, daughter of Hugh 
le Brun, Earl of Angouleme, and he married secondly, 
the Princess Joan Plantagenet, commonly called 
Joan of Acres, 12 daughter of Edward I., by whom he 
was father of Gilbert, tenth and last Earl of Clare, 
and Earl of Hertford and Gloucester; this brave 
young noble, who was a personal friend of Robert the 
Bruce, fell fighting valiantly on the field of Bannock- 
burn, 1314, where he had a chief command of the 
English forces. 13 At his death the earldoms of Clare, 
Hertford, and Gloucester, became extinct, 14 but he 
left three sisters who became his co-heirs : the eldest, 
Alianor, married first, Hugh le Despencer, and 
secondly, William, Lord Zouch ; the second, Marga- 
ret, was married first to Piers Gaveston, and after 
his death, she became the wife of Hugh de Audley ; 
the third daughter, Elizabeth de Clare, married 



12 Thrice has Acre (or Ptolemais) called forth the valour of 
the English : first, in its capture by Cceur-de-Lion, secondly, in 
its defence by tbe heroic Sir Sidney Smith against the power of 
Napoleon, and lastly, its recent brilliant capture will prove that 
in the reign of Queen Victoria, the same daring spirit actuates 
her subjects that inspired the heroes of Cressy, Agincourt, or 
Trafalgar. 

13 " Bid Gloster's Earl the fight begin." 

Lord of the Isles, Canto vi. St. 21. 

14 The arms of the great House of Clare were, " Or, three 
chevrons, gules." Glover's MS. p. 630. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 327 

John de Burg, son of Richard, second Earl of 
Ulster, by whom (who died in his father's life-time) 
she was mother of William de Burg, third Earl of 
Ulster, whose only child and heir, Elizabeth de 
Burg, married Lionel, third son of Edward III., 
who created him, in consequence of the lordship of 
Clare forming part of his acquired property, Duke of 
Clarence. 15 

II. The House of De Burg, which, as we have 
just seen, merged, as well as that of Clare, in the 
royal family of England, claimed a descent from Char- 
lemagne, through his fifth son, Charles, Duke of 
Ingelheim, from whom John de Burgo, Earl of 
Comyn and Baron of Tonsburg in Normandy, was 
fourth in male descent. 16 John de Burgo had a son, 
Harlaven, or Herlouin de Burgo, Lord of Conte- 
•ville, who married Arleta, mother of William the 
Conqueror, by whom he was father of Odo, Bishop of 
Bayeux, created Earl of Kent by his half brother the 
Conqueror, and of Robert, Earl of Mortaigne, 



15 The second King of Arms in Heraldry is called Ciarencieux 
from this title. From the time of Lionel, but three princes of 
the blood (and none besides) have enjoyed the dukedom of 
Clarence, viz. Thomas, second son of Henry IV., George, 
brother of Edward IV., and his late majesty, before he came 
to the throne as William IV. 

16 The noble house of De Vesci claims a descent from Eustace, 
brother of John de Burgo. 



328 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

who accompanied his half brother to England, and 
was by him created Earl of Cornwall, and received 
the largest share of the spoils of the Conquest next 
to William himself. He married Maud, daughter 
of Roger de Montgomery, 17 first Earl of Arundel 
and Shrewsbury, by whom he had a son, William 
de Moreton, 18 Earl of Cornwall, who forfeited his 
vast possessions in the reign of Henry I. ; he left two 
sons, Adelm de Burg, and John de Burg, whose 
son was the famous Hubert de Burg of Shakspeare, 
whose eldest son and heir John de Burg, 19 had a son, 
John de Burg, who died 1279, leaving a son John, 
Baron of Lanvale, whose daughter Margaret mar- 
ried her kinsman, Richard de Burg, second Earl 
of Ulster. Adelm de Burg, eldest son of William 
de Moreton, formed a distinguished alliance, having 
married Agnes, daughter of Louis VIL, King of 
France ; he was Steward to Henry II. of England, 

17 The arms of Roger de Montgomery (one of the Conqueror's 
chief captains), were, " Azure, a lion rampant, within a bor- 
dure, or." heylin. 

18 William de Moreton took part with the king's brother, 
Duke Robert of Normandy, and after the latter's defeat at the 
battle of Tinchebrai, in 1106, William was placed in close cap- 
tivity by Henry I., and deprived of eye-sight. 

19 John de Burg was son of Hubert (obiit 1243) by his first 
wife, Margaret, daughter of Robert de Arsike, one of the barons 
who took arms against King John (arms, " Or, a chief indented 
sable," Glover). John de Burg married Avis, the heiress of 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 329 

and had a son, William Fitz-Adelm, who in 1177 
was appointed governor of Ireland, and obtained a 
grant of great part of the province of Connaught : he 
died in 1204, leaving by his wife, Julian, daughter 
of Robert Doisnell, a son, Richard de Burg, 
called the Great Lord of Connaught, who was the 
king's lieutenant in Ireland in 1232. He married 
Hodierna, daughter of Robert de Gernon, whose 
wife was a daughter of Cahill, King of Connaught. 
Richard de Burg died in 1243, leaving two sons, 
Walter de Burg, and William de Burg, ancestor 
of the noble house of De Burg, Earls of Clanricarde, 
and of the present Lord Downes. 

Walter de Burg married Maud, daughter of 
Hugh de Lacie, 20 Earl of Ulster, in right of whom 
he became first Earl of Ulster of the name of De 
Burg: he died in 1271, leaving a son, Richard de 
Burg, second Earl of Ulster, called the Red Earl 



Lanvale (Sir Harris Nicolas calls her Hawyse, daughter and 
sole heir of William de Lanvellei, one of the twenty-five barons 
of Magna Charta), and their son, John de Burg, became, in his 
mother's right, Baron of Lanvale : he married Cicely, daughter 
of John Baliol ; and one of their three daughters, Devorgoil, 
became the wife of Robert, Lord Fitzwalter; another daughter, 
Avis, married Robert de Gresley, Baron of Manchester; and 
their child Joan married John, Lord de la Warr, ancestor of 
the Wests, Lords de la Warr. 

20 The wife of Hugh de Lacie was a daughter of Roderic, 
King of Connaught. 



330 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

and the greatest subject in Ireland; he took prece- 
dence of all the other nobles in a parliament held in 
Dublin, 1295. He married his cousin, Margaret 
de Burg, whose father, as before noticed, was great 
grandson of the famous Hubert de Burg, and by 
her had a son, John de Burg, who died in his father's 
life-time, being slain on the side of the English at the 
battle of Bannockburn, in 1314. Richard de Burg 
died in 1326, when the earldom of Ulster went to 
his grandson, William de Burg, son of John de 
Burg by Elizabeth de Clare, daughter of Gil- 
bert de Clare and the Princess Joan. 21 

William de Burg, who was only two years old 
at his father's death, was third and last Earl of 
Ulster, he died at the age of twenty-one, in 1333, 
leaving by his wife, Maud Plantagenet, 32 daugh- 
ter of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, whose father was 
Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III., a daugh- 
ter and heiress, Elizabeth de Burg, whose marriage 
in 1352, with Lionel of Clarence, carried the 



21 The arms borne by the De Burgs, Earls of Ulster, were, 
"Or, a cross gules." Glover. Hubert de Burg bore, "Gules, 
seven lozenges vairy, 3, 3, and 1." Heylin. 

22 After the death of William de Burg, his Countess Maud 
married Sir Ralph UfFord, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland; and 
their daughter, Maud, married Thomas De Vere, Earl of Oxford, 
whose son was Robert de Yere, the favourite of Richard 1L, 
who created him Marquis of Dublin, and Duke of Ireland, and 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 331 

estates of Ulster into the Royal Family of Eng- 
land. 23 

III. The House Mortimer was early allied with 
the ducal House of Normandy. Baldric the Teuton 
had several sons, of whom the eldest, Nicholas de 
Bacqueville, married a niece of the Duchess Gunora, 
by whom he had two sons, William Martell, father of 
William de Warren, first Earl of Warren and Surrey, 
and Walter de Saint Martin, ancestor of the 
Mortimers, Earls of Marche. 24 

Walter had a son Roger, who became Lord of 
Mortemer sur Ealne, and whom the Conqueror called, 
as well as William de Warren, cousin ; he was one 
of the chiefs in William's army in Normandy. His 
son Raoul or Ralph de Mortemer accompanied 
the Conqueror to England, and held a chief command 
in his army at Hastings. In one of the Harleian 
MSS. in the British Museum, he is mentioned as 
" Radulfus de Mortuo Mari, omnium strenuissimus, 



bestowed upon him the hand of his niece Philippa, daughter of 
Ingelram de Coucy and the Princess Isabel, daughter of Ed- 
ward III. 

23 " Ulster became the special inheritance and revenue of 
the crown of England." Playfair. The title of Earl of Ulster 
was revived in favour of Richard Plantagenet, father of Edward 
IV., who from him inherited the title. Ulster gives a name to 
one of our heralds at arms. 

2i Ordericus Vitalis. 



332 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

velut alter Samson, cum leonina ferocitate." The 
Conqueror, who had great confidence in his prowess, 
sent him into Wales, against Edric the Wild, Earl of 
Shrewsbury, whom he besieged in his castle of Wig- 
more, and having subdued him, he was rewarded by 
William with the Earl's lands, and he made W 7 igmore 
his chief residence, and he was also constituted Con- 
stable of England by the Conqueror. 23 His son, 
Hugh de Mortemer, called " the most arrogant 
man alive, and wanton with greatness," 26 second Lord 
of Wigmore, who died 1185, married Annora, daugh- 
ter of William, Lord of Braose, by a daughter of 
Richard, Earl of Clare, by whom he had a son, 
Roger de Mortemer, who founded the convent of 
Wigmore, and was one of the barons who took the 
side of King John at the time of Magna Charta ; by 
his second wife Isabella, sister and heir (Sir H. 
Nicolas) of Hugh de Ferrars of Oakham, he had 
a son, Ralph de Mortemer, 27 who died in 1246, 



23 Edmondson. Ralph de Mortimer assisted Duke Robert, 
the Conqueror's eldest son in his claim to the throne of Eng- 
land. 

26 The chronicle of Normandy as quoted by Edmondson, 
states that " le Roy Guillam le Bastart fit Hue de Mortemer 
son Constable d'Angleterre." 

27 By his first wife, a daughter of William de Ferrars, Earl of 
Derby, he had a son, Hugh de Mortimer, who succeeded to the 
lordship of Wigmore, and at whose death in 1227 without issue, 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 333 

leaving by his consort Gladuse, widow of Reginald 
de Braose, and daughter of Llewellyn, Prince 
of Wales, Roger Mortimer, surnamed Gethin 
(Glover), fifth Lord of Wigmore. He died in 1282 
(Camden), having married his cousin Maud, second 
daughter and co-heir of William, Baron de Braose, 28 
by Eva, the daughter of the Earl of Pembroke, and 
by her he was father of Edmund Mortimer, who, 
in 1301, signed the famous letter to the pope from the 
barons ; his name is twelfth on the list as " Edmu'dus 
de Mortuo Mari, D'n's de Wigemor." 29 His death 
took place in 1303, and by his wife Margaret, daugh- 



the honours came to his half brother Ralph. The numerous 
families of Ferrars of Derby, of Chartley, of Groby, of Okeham, 
of Wemme, had a common ancestor in Robert de Ferrars, created 
Earl of Derby in 1137, whose son Robert, second earl, married 
Sibilla, daughter of William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny 
and Brecknock. The present Earl Ferrers is descended by a 
female from Ferrars of Chartley. The arms of Ferrers are, 
14 Argent, six horse-shoes sable, pierced or, 3, 2, and 1." 
(Heylin). This bearing alludes to the extensive forges in Nor- 
mandy, from which possessions the lords de Ferrieres took their 
name and title. Henry de Ferrieres accompanied the Con- 
queror, who gave him Tutbury Castle and several lordships. 

DUNCAN. 

28 William de Braose, who died 1229, was one of the barons 
who took arms against King John at the time of Magna Charta, 
his arms were, " Azure, croiselee gules, a lion rampant or, armed 
and langued gules." 

29 Sir Harris Nicolas' Synopsis. 



334 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

ter of William de Fendles, who is called " a kinswoman 
of Queen Eleanor," he was father of one destined to 
play an important part in English history, namely, 
Roger Mortimer, who was created first Earl of 
March in 1328 (temp. Ed. III.), a title derived from 
his situation of lord marcher of the borders between 
England and Wales, he being one of the most potent 
barons of the Welch marches. In the reign of Ed- 
ward II., Roger Mortimer was one of those barons 
who took the side of the Earl of Lancaster against 
the king, and demanded the disgrace of the Spensers ; 
but Edward's party proving too strong for resistance 
at the time, Mortimer, with many others, was obliged 
to make his submission, but he was condemned to be 
confined in the Tower for life. " He was so fortunate 
as to make his escape into France ; and being one of 
the most considerable persons of his party, as well as 
distinguished by his violent animosity against Spenser, 
he was easily admitted to pay his court to queen 
Isabella." 30 The ascendancy which Mortimer ob- 
tained over the queen, and the disgraceful intimacy 
which ensued between them, are too well known to be 
detailed here. On the tragical death of Edward II., 
by the hirelings of Mortimer, that noble, although his 
name did not appear in the council of regency, for the 
young king Edward III., completely ruled the king- 

ao Hume. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 335 

dom. " He rendered that council entirely useless by 
usurping to himself the whole sovereign authority ; he 
settled on the queen dowager the greater part of the 
royal revenues ; he never consulted the princes of the 
blood or the nobility in any public measure ; the king 
himself was so besieged by his creatures that no access 
could be procured to him ; and all the envy which had 
attended Gaveston and Spenser fell much more de- 
servedly on the new favourite." 31 It was Mortimer 
who, in 1328, brought about a peace between England 
and Scotland, in which he " besides stipulating a mar- 
riage between Jane, sister of Edward (III.), and 
David, the son and heir of Robert (the Bruce), con- 
sented to resign absolutely this claim (of superiority), 
to give up all the homages done by the Scottish 
parliament and nobility, and to acknowledge Robert 
as independent sovereign of Scotland." 32 In 1330, 
Mortimer caused a prince of the blood, Edmund of 
Woodstock, Earl of Kent, a younger son of Edward I., 
to be beheaded, and his abuse of power and his ex- 
cesses becoming insupportable, the young king, as- 
sisted by several nobles, seized him in the castle of 
Nottingham, wherein he lodged with the queen dow- 
ager, and in spite of her entreaties that they would 

" Spare her gentle Mortimer," 



31 Hume. sa i^d. 



336 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

he was condemned, after a hasty and informal trial, to 
be hanged for treason at Tyburn, Nov. 29th, 1330. 33 

The minion of Queen Isabella had married Joane, 
daughter and sole heir of Sir Peter de Jennevill, or 
Genevile, 34 whose wife was Joane, daughter of 
Hugh XII., Count de la Marche and Earl of Angou- 
leme. The father of Sir Peter was Sir Geoffrey, called 
by Camden " the Lord Geoffrey Genevile, who retired 
out of the Holy Land in 1273, and was made Lord 
Justice of Ireland ;" he married Maud, daughter of 
Gilbert de Lacy (Play fair), and niece and co-heir of 
Walter de Lacy (Glover). By his wife Joane, 



33 " It is remarkable that this sentence was, near twenty 
years after, reversed by parliament, in favour of Mortimer's 
son, and the reason assigned was, the illegal manner of pro- 
ceeding." Hume. It was not, however, the son, who died in 
1331, but the grandson, who in 1352 was restored to the for- 
feited earldom of March. 

34 The arms of Genevile are, " Azure, three horse-barnacles 
extended in pale or, on a chief ermine a lion issuant gules." 
Glover's MS. p. 189, for " S r . Geffry Genevile." The Lord 
Geoffrey Genevile obtained with his wife the lordships of Cor- 
vedale, Ludlow, Meath, and Trim ; he was brother to the 
famous John, Sieur de Joinville, Seneschal of Champagne, the 
friend, fellow-soldier, andjiistorian of Louis IX. The lords of 
Joinville ranked high] among the noble houses of Champagne, 
and were allied with jthe royal house of France. One of the 
family so distinguished himself at Ptolemais, that Richard 
Coeur-de-Lion pronounced him the best knight of the age, and 
allowed him to take the royal lions of England for his arms. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 337 

Roger Mortimer had four sons and seven daughters : 
namely, 1. Sir Edmund Mortimer ; 2. Sir Roger 
Mortimer ; and 3. Sir Geoffrey Mortimer ; who were 
knighted at the coronation of Edward III. ; 4. John 
Mortimer, " slain at a tilting at Shrewsbury" (Glover) ; 
5. Katherine, the wife of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl 
of Warwick ; 6. Joane, the wife of James, Lord Aud- 
ley, one of the heroes of Poictiers, and one of the 
" First Founders of the Order of the Garter ;" 7. 
Agnes, the wife of Laurence Hastings, Earl of Pem- 
broke, their son John Hastings married Margaret, 
daughter of Edward III. ; 8. Margaret, married to 
Thomas, son of Maurice, Lord Berkeley; 9. Maud, 
married to John, son and heir of John de Cherleton, 
Lord of Powys ; 10. Blanche, married to Peter, Lord 
de Grandison ; 11. Beatrice, who married first Edward 
Plantagenet (ob. vit. pat. s. p.), son of Thomas de 
Brotherton, fifth son of Edward I. ; she married 
secondly Sir Thomas Brews. 

The eldest son of Roger, first Earl of March, Sir 
Edmund Mortimer, did not succeed to his fathers 
earldom ; he was knighted, with his brothers, at the 
coronation of Edward III., and died in 1331, leaving 
by his wife, Elizabeth, second daughter of Bartho- 
lomew, Lord Badlesmere (executed for sharing in the 
treason of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 1322), and sister 
and co-heir of Giles, Lord Badlesmere, a son, Roger 
Mortimer, who, in 1352, obtained a reversal of his 



338 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

grandfather's attainder, and became second Earl of 
March. He appears to have stood high in the favour 
of Edward III., whom he accompanied in his wars in 
Gascony, who knighted him, and made him Constable 
of Dover Castle, and Warden of the Cinque Ports, 
and by whom also he was made one of the first 
Founders of the Order of the Garter. He held a 
command in the third division headed by the King 
at Cressy. He married Philippa, second daughter 
(according to Edmondson and Glover) and heiress of 
William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and King of 
the Isle of Man, and K. G., and by her had only one 
son, Edmund Mortimer, born 1351, who, at his 
father's death in 1359 according to Glover, but in 
1360 according to Heylin and Sir Harris Nicolas, 
became third Earl of March : he was also Lord and 
Baron of Wigmore, Trim, Clare, and Connaught, and 
also held the lordship and town of Ludlow. By his 
marriage with the granddaughter of Edward III., 
Philippa, only child and heir of Lionel, Duke of Cla- 
rence, by Elizabeth de Burg, Countess of Ulster, he 
laid the foundation of the claim to the throne which 
was obtained, in virtue of this marriage, by his de- 
scendant, Edward IV. In right of his wife he be- 
came Earl of Ulster and obtained the honour of Clare ; 
he was also for a short time Marshal of England. He 
died in 1381, and had issue: 1. Roger Mortimer, 
his successor ; 2. Sir Edmund Mortimer, who married 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 339 

a daughter of the famous Owen Glendower; 3. Sir 
John Mortimer, beheaded; 35 4. Elizabeth, who be- 
came the wife of the equally famous Henry Percy, 
surnamed " Hotspur ;" 5. Philippa, the wife first of 
John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, secondly, of Richard 
Fitz-alan, Earl of Arundel, and thirdly, of John Poyn- 
ings, Lord Saint John, but had no issue by either. 
In his " First Part of King Henry IV." Shakspeare 
has introduced the familiar names of Mortimer, Glen- 
dower, and Hotspur, but it is clear that the poet has 
mistaken the person of the former noble; in the 
dramatis personse he is styled " Edmund Mortimer, 
Earl of March," and we find also among them, " Lady 



35 In the " Third Part of K. Henry VI.," Shakspeare has 
introduced "Sir John Mortimer," and "Sir Hugh Mortimer, 
uncles to the Duke of York ;" the former speaks but one line in 
the whole play : 

" York. Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer mine uncles ! 
You are come to Sandal in a happy hour; 
The army of the queen mean to besiege us. 

Sir John. She shall not need, we'll meet her in the field." 

Acti. sc. 2. 
Jack Cade, whose insurrection at first was so formidable, 
assumed the popular name of Mortimer, pretending to be a son 
of the above Sir John Mortimer : 

" The rebels are in Southwark ; fly, my lord ! 
Jack Cade proclaims himself Lord Mortimer, 
Descended from the Duke of Clarence' house." 

2 K. Henry VI. Act iv. sc. 4. 



340 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

Mortimer, daughter to Glendower, and wife to Morti- 
mer," 36 whereas, as stated before, the lady's husband 
was, not Earl of March, but simply Sir Edmund 
Mortimer, his brother Roger bearing the rank of 
Earl. The mistake, thus commenced in the play, 
runs through it ; Hotspur speaks of his " wife's bro- 
ther" as intending the Earl of March, whom he calls 
his brother Edmund Mortimer, 37 and when Lady 
Percy (who is wrongly named Katherine in the play) 
observes, 

" I fear, my brother Mortimer doth stir 
About his title;" 

the allusion is still made to Edmund, as supposed by 
Shakspeare to be the Earl of March. 38 At the time 



36 " The great magician, damn'd Glendower ; 
Whose daughter, as we hear, the Earl of March 
Hath lately married." 

37 Hot. But soft I pray you ; did King Richard then 
Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer 

Heir to the crown V Act i. sc. 3. 
Worcester had just before asked the same question, 
" Was he not proclaim'd, 
By Richard, that dead is, the next of blood V 
But it was the elder brother Roger, Earl of March, who was 
thus declared heir to the throne, and his son Edmund succeeded 
to his claim and title. 

38 The connection of the name of Mortimer with the title of 
March has led to another mistake in this play: Sir Walter 
Blunt is made to tell the king — 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



341 



when the play commences, which is fixed by the date 
of the battle of Homildon, a. d. 1400, Roger Morti- 
mer was dead (he died 1398), and the then Earl of 
March was Edmund Mortimer, nephew to Hotspur, 
and to the husband of Glendower's daughter. 

Roger Mortimer, fourth Earl of March, and second 
Earl of Ulster, was in 1385 proclaimed by parliament 
heir apparent to the throne, in virtue of his descent 
from Lionel, next brother after King Richard's own 
father the Black Prince. In 1398, Roger Mortimer 
was sent to Ireland to quell an insurrection, but was 
killed in a skirmish with the natives, and it was to 
avenge his death that Richard II. crossed over to 
Ireland, and left England open to the attempt of 
Henry Bolingbroke. Roger Mortimer married Elea- 
nor Holland, 39 eldest daughter of Thomas Hol- 



'* Lord Mortimer of Scotland hath sent word — 
That Douglas and the English rebels, met 
The eleventh of this month, at Shrewsbury ;" 
whereas it was Dunbar, Earl of Marche in Scotland, who sent 
this seasonable intelligence to Henry IV. 

39 Thomas Holland, father of Eleanor, was son of Sir Thomas 
Holland, one of the First Founders of the Order of the Garter, 
who by his marriage with the beautiful Joan, " Fair Maid of 
Kent," became, in her right, Earl of Kent ; her father was Ed- 
mund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent (son of Edward I.), who was 
executed by order of Roger Mortimer, first Earl of March. The 
marriage, therefore, of Roger Mortimer to Eleanor Holland is 
so far remarkable, as she was third in descent from one victim 



342 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

land, Earl of Kent, and by her had two sons, Edmund, 
his heir, and Roger, who died young ; and two daugh- 
ters, Anne, and Eleanor ; the latter married Edward 
Courtney, eleventh Earl of Devonshire, by whom she 
had no issue. 

Edmund Mortimer succeeded his father as Earl of 
March and Ulster, and inherited his claim to the 
throne. Shakspeare has introduced him as one of 
the characters in the " First Part of King Henry 
VI.," and in a scene between him and his nephew 
Richard Plantagenet, Act ii. Sc. 5. an accurate de- 
scription is given of his descent and claim, but the 
same confusion as to identity is made as in the Play 
of the " First Part of King Henry IV." 

" During whose reign the Percies of the north, 
Finding his usurpation most unjust, 
Endeavour'd my advancement to the throne : 
The reason mov'd these warlike lords to this 
Was — for that (young King Richard thus remov'd, 
Leaving no heir begotten of his body), 
I was the next by birth and parentage" — 

As in a few lines afterwards Mortimer tells his 
nephew 

" Thy father, Earl of Cambridge, then deriv'd 



of her husband's ancestor, whilst Roger Mortimer was, through 
his mother, descended from Edward II., another victim of the 
same ancestor. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 343 

From famous Edmund Langley, Duke of York, 
Marrying my sister, that thy mother was," 

there can be no doubt that he is therefore the son of 
Roger Mortimer, whose sister married Hotspur, and 
w T hose brother married Glendower's daughter; but 
though doubtless Shakspeare intended that the Earl 
of March in the First Part of K. Henry IV., and the 
Earl of March in the First Part of K. Henry VI., 
should mean one and the same person, it is clear that 
he has made some mistake in the alliance of the indi- 
vidual with others in the drama. 

Edmund Mortimer, the last Earl of March and 
Ulster of his name, died in 1424, having been unable 
to make good his claim against the House of Lancas- 
ter. 40 He was kept a close prisoner for nearly twenty 
years in Trim Castle (Sandford). He left no issue 
by his wife Anne, daughter of Edmond Stafford, Earl 
of Stafford, and in consequence his right to the suc- 
cession rested in his eldest sister Anne Mortimer 
and her descendants. She married, as before stated, 
Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge; and 
their son, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, 
following up the claim of the House of Mortimer, of 
which he was then the representative, prepared the 



40 " Strong-fixed is the House of Lancaster, 
And like a mountain, not to be remov'd." 

1 Part K. Henry VI. Act ii. sc. 5. 



344 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

way for his son's accession to the throne, upon which 
he sat as Edward IV., who bestowed the titles which 
had fallen in to the crown upon his brothers, making 
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and George, Duke of 
Clarence, 41 whilst Ulster and March were absorbed in 
the regal dignity. The last Earl of Ulster was his 
late Royal Highness, the Duke of York. The earl- 
dom of March is now the second title of the ducal 
house of Richmond. 



Richard, I will create thee Duke of Gloster;- 
And George of Clarence." 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



345 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

" Thy blood and virtue 
Contend for empire in thee, and thy goodness 
Shares with thy birthright." shakspeare. 

CONCLUSION. 

THE Compiler, in bringing his labours to a close, 
feels that his care is about to begin, to use the 
expression of an old historian. He feels some anxiety 
in launching forth this his first barque of venture 
upon the sea of public opinion, lest, in his humble, 
but at least loyal endeavour to derive our queen from 
the former lions of her blood, he may not have suc- 
ceeded 

" to draw forth her noble ancestry 
From the corruption of abusing time 
Unto a lineal true-derived course," 

in a manner 

" fitting for a princess 
Descended of so many royal kings." 

Having neither the inclination nor ability to invade 
the province of the historian, the Compiler has sought 
chiefly to confine his studies to the investigation of 



346 ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

the genealogy of his illustrious subjects, a pursuit, 
which, as it is inferior to the graver purposes of the 
historian, is often too much neglected by him. How- 
ever the task may have been performed to the eye of 
the intelligent herald and genealogist, one reproach 
at least cannot be addressed to the humble worker 
amidst the mines of antiquarian ore, it cannot be said, 

" You tell a pedigree 
Of threescore and two years, a silly time." 

Indeed to no one House in Europe may the Royal 
Family of England be deemed inferior in proved 
antiquity of descent. It is surprising to find so emi- 
nent a writer as Mr. Hallam thus speaking of the 
superior antiquity of the House of France : " The 
family of Capet is generally admitted to possess the 
most ancient pedigree of any sovereign line in Europe. 
Its succession through males is unequivocally deduced 
from Robert the Brave, made governor of Anjou in 
864, and father of Eudes, King of France, and of 
Robert who was chosen by a party in 922. It is 
moreover highly probable that Robert the Brave was 
descended equally through males from St. Arnold, 
who died in 640, and consequently nearly allied to the 
Carlovingian family, who derive their pedigree from 
the same head." But it is surely impossible to refuse 
to recognize the higher claim of antiquity in our own 
Royal House, when we know that its great founder 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 347 

Cerdic had carved out with his own good sword a 
great and yet enduring kingdom three hundred and 
fifty years before the ancestor of the Capets became 
Count of Anjou. And through the ancient Kings of 
Scotland, our queen their descendant may defy any 
sovereign line to show a loftier pedigree. And if in 
ancientness of descent Queen Victoria has reason to 
be justly proud, not the less cause has she to be so in 
looking back upon that long line of illustrious proge- 
nitors, of whom it may be said that more heroes and 
statesmen have been produced than in any other great 
family. This is not the place to enter into a cata- 
logue of the virtues or vices of those departed great 
ones, much less would it be becoming to speak here 
of the personal character of their illustrious descend- 
ant. But in one respect allusion may be permitted to 
be made to a quality which Queen Victoria inherits 
from her ancestors. The princely rulers of England 
have been distinguished for personal courage, whether 
seen in the hardy Saxon, the warlike Norman, the 
lion-hearted Plantagenet, the stately Tudor, or the 
later Guelph. Whether battling on their native soil 
for their people's rights, or leading their " choice of 
dauntless spirits" into an enemy's country, whether 
facing an infuriated populace, or braving the assassin's 
steel, the same high-blooded courage or presence of 
mind has nerved all who have swayed the sceptre of 
this land. In the leader of armies, or the manly head 



348 AXCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

of a great nation, we expect to find this virtue, but we 
do not look for its display in a young and delicate 
female. Yet without entering into a detail which the 
recentness of occurrences renders unnecessary, it must 
have forcibly struck some of her subjects that from 
the hour of Queen Victoria's accession, when 

" happily did her sweet self put on 
The lineal state and glory of the land," 

until now, the words addressed to her warlike prede- 
cessor, the " Fifth Harry," placed at the head of this 
work, are peculiarly applicable to the present occupier 
of the throne : 

" You are their heir, you sit upon their throne ; 
The blood and courage that renowned them 
Runs in your veins." 

With equal truth may the words of the great poet 

be added 

" never king of England 
Had nobles richer, and more loyal subjects." 

To the glory which must belong to her as the head 
of a mighty nation, upon whose empire the sun never 
sets, and which, constantly increasing, still enlarges 
the reign of true liberty and Christianity, to this glory 
Queen Victoria adds the love of her subjects, and the 
comfort of domestic happiness shared with the august 
consort of her choice. For the Prince it mav be 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 349 

permitted to indulge a wish in the language of Shak- 

speare : 

" May he live 
Longer than I have time to tell his years ! 

Ever belov'd and loving, 

And, when old time shall lead him to his end, 
Goodness and he fill up one monument !" 

And for the illustrious lady for whose welfare the 
pulse of a great nation throbs with the affectionate 
and heartfelt interest of personal solicitude and loyalty, 
still may the words of England's poet be employed : 

" May many years of happy days befall 
My gracious sovereign, my most loving liege ; 

Each day still better other's happiness 
Until the heavens, envying earth's good hap, 
Add an immortal title to her crown." 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES 

OF THE ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 

AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



*jy* *\jy» «^jv» 

CAD CXO QX*> ' 
GYD GYDGYD 
«Aft» «aTU «Aft» 



A A 



CONTENTS OF TABLES. 

I. The Pedigree of Egbert from Cerdic. 

II. The Pedigree of Henry II. from Egbert. 

III. The Descent of Henry II. from Rollo. 

IV. The Family of Charlemagne and Counts of Flanders to 

Henry II. 
V. The Descent of Edward IV. in male line from Henry II. 
VI. The Descent of Edward IV. from Lionel, Duke of Clarence. 
VII. The Descent of Edward IV. from John, Duke of Lancaster. 
VIII. The Descent of James I. of England from Edward III., 
and from Henry VII. , and Elizabeth of York. 
IX. The Pedigree of the House of Tudor to Henry VII. 
X. The Pedigree of the Kings of Scotland to King Robert the 

Bruce. 
X.* The same continued to James VI. 
XI. The Descent of Queen Victoria from James I. 
XII. The Pedigree of the House of Stuart to James VI. 

XIII. The Pedigree of the House of Douglas to James VI. 

XIV. The Pedigree of the Family of Bruce to King Roeert I. 
XV. The Pedigree of the House of De Burg to Edward IV. 

XVI. The Pedigree of the House of De Clare to Edward IV. 

XVII. The Pedigree of the House of Mortimer to Edward IV. 

XVIII. The Descent of Edward IV. from the House of Wake. 

XIX. The Lineal Descent of the Kings of France. 

XX. The Descent of the Kings of France of the House of Bour- 



XXI. The Ancestry of Henry the Fowler from Charlemagne. 

XXII. The Line of Witikind the Great to Henry the Lion. 

XXIII. The House of Guelph in direct line to Henry the Lion. 

XXIV. The House of Este to Henry the Lion. 
XXV. The House of Billing to Henry the Lion. 



TABLES. 



353 



XXVI. The House of Brunswick from Henry the Lion to Queen 

Victoria. 
XXVII. The Line of YVitikind to Frederick the Grave of Saxe- 

Gotha. 
XXVIII. The Descent of Frederick the Grave from Alfred the G reat. 
XXIX. The Line of Frederick the Grave to Queen Victoria. 
XXX. The Descent of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from 

Ernest the Pious. 
XXXI. The Lineal Descent of the Kings of Denmark. 
XXXII. The House of Mecklenburg to Queen Victoria. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 

TABLE I. 

The Pedigree of Egbert from Cerdic. 



Name. 


Rank. 


accd. 


died. 




Cerdic 


First King of W-essex 

Second ditto 

Third ditto 

Fifth ditto 

Second son 

Councillor to his son 

In a. 
Brother to King Ina. 

King of Kent 

19th King of Wessex. 


519 
534 
560 
591 

before 


534 
560 

787 




Cenric 




Ceawjline 

CUTHWINE 

CUTH 




Ceowald 

Cenred 


Names of Consorts 
not known. 


Ingils, 2nd son 

Eoppa 




Eafa 




Alchmund 

Egbert 





354 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE II. 

The Pedigree of Henry II. from Egbert. 



Name. 


Rank. 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Egbert 


First King of 
England 


827 


838 


Redburga. 


Noble but uncer- 




tain. 


Ethelwolf 


K. of England. 


838 


858 


Osburga . . 


Earl Oslac. 


Alfred the Great. . 


Ditto fourth son 


871 


901 


Ealswitha . 


E. Ethelan and 
Lady Eadburga. 


Edward the Elder... 


K. of England. 


901 


925 


Eadgiva. . 


Earl Sigelline. 


Edmund the Elder... 


Do. succeeded 
Athelstan 


941 


946 


Elgifa 


uncertain. 


Edgar the Peaceable 


second son, suc- 
ceeded Edwy 


959 


975 


Elfrida.. 


Ordgar, Earl of 
Devon. 


Ethelred II 


sue. Edward the 
Martyr 


978 


1016 


Elgifa 


Ealdorman Tho- 
red. 


Edmund Ironside. . . 


K. of England. 


1016 


1017 


Algitha. . . 


unknown. 


Edward the Outlaw. 


Prince Royal.. 




1057 


Agatha . . . 


Emperor Hen. II. 


Margaret 


Q. of Scotland. 




1093 


Male. III.. 


Duncan, King of 
Scots. 


Matilda 


Q. of England. 


mar. 
1102 


1118 


Henry I . . 


William the 
Conqueror. 


Matilda 


Emp. and heir 
of Henry I. 


1141 


1167 


Geoffrey 
Plantagenet 


Fou Ik V., Count 




of Anjou. 


Henry II 


K. of England. 


1154 


1189 







TABLE III. 

The Descent of Henry II. from Rollo. 



Name. 


Rank. 


accd. died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Rollo, or Robert I. 


1st Duke of 


912 932 


Papia .... 


Berenger, Count 




Normandy 








of Bayeux. 


William Longsword. 


2nd duke .... 


932 


943 


Sprota . . . 


Hubert, Earl of 
Senlis. 


Rich. I. Sans-peur. . 


3rd duke 


943 


996 


Gunora. .. 


of Danish birth. 


Richard II 


4th duke 


996 


1027 


Judith.. . . 


D. of Britany. 


Robert le Diable. . . 


6lh duke 


1027 


1038 


Arleta .... 


supposed grand- 
dan, of Edmund 
Ironside. 


William II 


7th duke, King 
of England 


1038 


1087 


Matilda... 


Baldwin Y., Ct. 
of Flanders. 




9th duke, and 
ditto 




1135 


Matilda . . . 


Malcolm III. and 




Margaret. 


Matilda 


Empress 




1167 


Geoffrey of 
Anjou . . . 


Foulk V., Cooul 
of Anjou. 


Henry II 


K. of England, 


1154 1189 








and 10th duke 











AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



355 



TABLE IV. 

The Family of Charlemagne and Counts of Flanders to 
Henry II. 



Name. 



Pepin the Old 

Doda 



Pepin cTHeristal.. . 
Charles Martel .. . 
Pepin the Short 



Charlemagne . . . 



Louis le Debonair.. 
Charles the Bald. . 



Judith . 



Baldwin I. . . 
Baldwin II. . 
Arnolf I. . . . 
Baldwin III. 
Arnolf II. . . 
Baldwin IV. , 
Baldwin V... 

Matilda 

Henry I 

Matilda 

Henry II. . . . 



Mayor of Aus 
trasia 



D. of Austrasia 
D. of the Franks 

King of France 

Emperor of the 
West 

King of France 

King and Em- 
peror 

Widow of King 
Ethelwolf 



aceci. died 



687 
714 
751 

800 

814 
840 



714 
741 

7uS 

8:4 
840 



Anchises, 
died 679 
Elpaide 
Rotrude 
B itrade.. 

Hildegarde 

Judith. ... 
Hermen- 
trude 
Baldwin 



Parentage ofCoi: 



Counts o/Tlanders. 



1st Count of 
Flanders 
2nd Count.. 

3rd Count. . 

4th Count. . 

5th Count. . 

6th Count. . 

7th Count. . 

Queen of Eng- 
land 

King of Eng- 
land 

Empress 

K. of Enzlanrl, 



about 


878 


858 




878 


918 


918 






932 


962 


98S 


988 


1034 


1034 


1067 




1083 


1100 


1135 




1167 


1154 


1189 



Judith.. . . 

Alfritha . . 

Alice .... 

Machial . . 

Susann3. . 

Eleanora.. 

Adela ... . 

William 
the Conq. 
Matilda . . 

Geoffry of 
Anjou 



St. Arnold Bishp. 
of Metz,d. 640. 



Caribert, Count 
of Laon. 
of Swabia. 

GUELPH I. 

Vodon, Earl of 
Orleans. 

Andacer, Great 
Forester of Flan 
ders, died 837. 



Charles the 

Bald. 
Alfred the 
Great. 
Herbertll. Ct.of 

Vermandois. 
Herman Billing, 

D. of Saxony. 
Berenger II. K. 

of Italy. 
Richard II. D. 

of Normandy. 
King Robert I. 

of France. 
Robert II. D. of 

Normandy. 
Malcolm III. K. 

of Scots. 
Foulk V. Count 

of Anjou. 



356 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE V. 
The Descent of Edward IV. in male line from Henry II. 



Name. 


Rank. 


born, 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Con. 


Henry II 


King of 
England 


1132 


1154 


1189 


Eleanor. . 


William V. 




Duke of 














Aquitaine. 


John 


Ditto .... 


1166 


1199 


1216 


Isabella. . 


Aymer, Ct. of 




Angouleme. 


Henry III. 


Ditto 


1208 


1216 


1272 


Eleanor. . 


Raymond, C. 
of Provence. 




Edward I 


Ditto 


1239 


1272 


1307 


Eleanor. . 


Ferdinand 




III., King 














of Castile. 


Edward II 


Ditto .... 


1284 


1307 


1327 


Isabella. . 


Philip the 
Fair, King 
















of France. 


Edward III.. ....... 


Ditto 


1312 


1327 


1377 


Philippa. . 


William, E. 












of Holland. 


Edmund of Langley . . . 


Duke of 
York 


1341 


1385 


1401 


Isabel.. . . 


Peter, K. of 
Castile and 
Leon. 


Richard of Coningsburg 


E. of Cam- 
bridge 




1414 


1415 


Anne Mor- 
timer 


Roger, Earl 
of Marche. 


Richard Plantagenet 


Duke of 
York 




1425 


1460 


Cicely Ne- 
vill 


Ralph, Earl 
of West- 
moreland. 


Edward IV 


King of 

England 


1443 


1461 


1483 


Lady Eli- 
zabeth 


Richard Wid- 




vill, Earl of 












Grey 


Rivers. 


Elizabeth of York . . 


Heiress. . 






1503 







AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



357 



TABLE VI. 

The Descent of Edward IV. from Lionel, Duke of Clarence. 



Name. 


Rank. 


born 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Con. 


Edward III 


King of 
England 


1312 


1327 


1377 


Philippa. . 


William, E. 
of Holland. 


Lionel, 3rd son 


Duke of 
Clarence 


1338 


1362 


1368 


Elizabeth 
de Burgh 


William, 3rd 
E. of Ulster. 


Philippa 


sole heir 


1355 


mar. 
1368 




Edmund 
Mortimer 


Roger, 2nd 




E. of Marche. 


Roger Mortimer . 


Earl of 
Marche 




1381 


1398 


Eleanor 
Holland 


Thomas, Earl 
of Kent. 


Anne Mortimer 


heir to her 
brother 




before 


1415 


Richard 

Plantage- 

net 
Cicely Ne- 


Edmund of 
Langley. 


Richard Plantagenet 


Duke of 




1425 


1460 


Ralph, E. of 




York 








vill 


Westmore- 
land. 


Edward IV 


King of 
England 


1443 


1461 


1483 


Lady Eli- 
zabeth 
Grey 


descended 
from Henry 
III. 


Elizabeth of York. . 


Heiress. . 






1503 


Henry VII 





TABLE VII. 

The Descent of Edward IV .from John, Duke of Lancaster. 



Name. 


Rank. 


bora accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Con. 


Edward III 


King of 
England 


1312 


1327 


1377 


Philippa 




John of Gaunt 


Duke of 
Lancaster 


1340 




1399 


Catherine, 
3rd wife 


Sir Payn 
Roet, knt. 


Joan Beaufort 


Widow of 
Robert 
Ferrers 






1440 


Ralph Ne- 
vill 


John, Lord 

Nevill. 


Cicely Nevill 


Duchess of 
York 






1495 


Richard, 
D. of York 


Richard, E.of 
Cambridge. 


Edward IV 


King of 


1443 


1461 


1483 








England 







358 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE VIII. 

The Descent of James I. of England, from Edward III., and 
from Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York. 



Name. 


Rank. 


born. 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Con. 


Edward III 


King of 
England 


1312 


1327 


1377 


Phihppa . . 


William, E. 
of Holland. 


John of Gaunt 


Duke of 

Lancaster 


1340 


1361 


1399 


Catherine 
Swynford 


Sir Payn 
Roel, knt. 


John Beaufort 


Earl of 
Somerset 




1397 


1410 


Margaret 
Holland 


Thomas, Earl 
of Kent. 


John Beaufort 


Dnke of 
Somerset 




1443 


1444 


Margaret . 


Sir John 
Beauchamp. 


Margaret Beaufort .. 


only dau. 
and heir 






1509 


Edmund 
Tudor 


Sir Owen Tu- 
dor, and Q. 
Katherine. 


Henry VII 


King of 

England 


1455 


1485 


1509 


Elizabeth 
of York 






IV. 


Margaret Tudor .... 


Queen of 
Scotland 


1489 


1505 


1541 


James IV. 


JamesIII.K. 

of Scotland. 


James V 


King of 
Scots 


1511 


1513 


1542 


see Tab. X. 








Mary Stuart 


Queen of 

Scots 


1542 


1542 


1587 


Henry 
Darnley 




James VI 


King of 
England 


1566 


1603 


1625 







AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



359 



TABLE IX. 

The Pedigree of the House of Tudor to Henry VII. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Cadwallader 


last King of Bri- 
tain 
Prince of Britain 


689 






Tdwal Ywrch.. . . 


720 






RODERIC MOLWYNOC 


Prince of Wales. 


750 






CONAN TlNDAETHWY 


Prince of Wales. 


817 






ESYLT 


Heiress of Wales 




Mervyn 
Vrych. 




RODERIC the Great. 


Prince of all 
Wales 


877 


Angharad . . 


Meyric, Prince of 
South Wales. 


Cadeth, 2nd son. . . 


Prince of South 
Wales, and Lord 
of Powis 


907 


Rhinger . . . 


Tudyr Ivwr. 


Howel Dha 


King of all Wales 


948 


Jana 


Duke of Cornwall. 


Owen 


Prince of South 
Wales 


987 


Eva, grand- 
daughter 


Patrick, King of 




Ireland. 


Eneon 


oht. vita patris. . 


983 






Tewdar Mawr. .. . 


Prince of South 
Wales 


993 






Rhys ap Tewdar. . 


Prince of South 
Wales 


1090 


Gwladys 


Rhywallon, Pr. of 
N. Wales. 


Griffith ap Rhys.. 


Prince of South 
Wales 


1137 


Gwenllian. . 


Griffith ap Conan, 
P. of North Wales. 


Lord Rhys 


3rd son, Prince 
• of South Wales 


1197 


Gwenllian. . 


Madocap Meredith, 
Prince of Powis. 


Gwenllian 


Heiress 




Ednyfed 
Vychan 


said to be descended 
from King Lear. 


Grono 


of Trecastel .... 




Morfydh . . . 


Meurye, Lord of 




Gwent. 


Tudwr ap Grono. . 


of Penwynyd . . . 


1311 


Angaied 


Ithel Fychan. 


Grono a • Tudwr. . 




1331 


Gwerfill 




Sir Tudor 


of Penwynyd. . . 


1387 


Margaret . . . 


Thomas ap Llewel- 
lyn. 


Meredith ap Tudor 






Margaret . . . 


David Fychan. 


Sir Owen Tudor . . 


Equerry to Henry 


1461 


Queen Kathe- 


Charles VI., King 




V. 




rine 


of France. 


Edmund Tudor , . .. 


Earl of Richmond 


1456 


Margaret 
Beaufort 


John, Duke of 
Somerset. 


Henry VII 


Earl of Richmond 


1509 




see Table VIII. 




and K. of England 






! 



360 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE X. 

The Pedigree of the Kings of Scotland to King Robert 
the Bruce. 



Name. 


Rank. 


accd. died. 


Consort. 1 Parentage of Con. 


Kenneth M "Alpine 


1st King of 

all Scotland 


836 


859 






CoNSTANTINEII. . . . 


King of Scots 


863 


881 






Donald IV 


King of Scots 


893 


904 






Malcolm 1 


King of Scots 


944 


953 






Kenneth II 


King of Scots 


970 


994 






Malcolm II 


King of Scots 


1003 


1033 






Beatrice 








Criuan, bi- 
shop of Duu- 
keld 




Duncan I 


King of Scots 


1033 


1039 


sister of Si- 
ward 




Malcolm III 


King of Scots 


1056 


1093 


Margaret of 

England 


Edward the Out- 
law. See Tab. II. 


David I., 4th son. . 


King of Scots 


1124 


1153 


Maud 


Waltheof, son of 
Siward. 


Henry, ob. v. pat. . 


Prince of 
Scotland 


1134 


1152 


Ada* 


William de War- 
renne. 


David 


Earl of Hunt- 
ingdon 


1190 


1219 


Maud 


Hugh Kivilioc, 




E. of Chester. 


Isabel 


second daugh- 
ter 




1251 


Robert Bruce 


Robert Brace, 3rd 




Lord of Annan- 












dale. See Tab. 












XIV. 


Robert Bruce . 


the Competi- 




1295 


Elizabeth de 


Gilbert, Earl of 




tor 






Clare 


Gloucester. 


Robert Bruce. . . . 


E. of Carrick 




1304 


Margaret . . . 


Niel, Earl of Car- 
rick. 


Robert Bruce. . . . 


King of Scots 


1306 


1329 







* Great granddaughter of William the Conqueror. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



361 



TABLE X * 
The Pedigree of the Kings of Scotland continued to James VI. 



Name. 


Rank. 


born. 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Robert Bruce- 


K. of Scots 




1306 


1329 


Isabel 


Donald, Earl of 
Mar. 


Marjory Bruce 








1318 


Walter the 
Steward 


James, son of 
Alexander, 4th 
Steward. See 
Table XII. 


Robert II 


K. of Scots 


1314 


1371 


1389 


Elizabeth. . . 


Sir Adam Mure. 


Robert III. . . . 


K. of Scots 




1389 


1406 


Annabella . . 


Sir John Drum- 
mond. 


James I 


K. of Scots 


1394 


1403 


1437 


Joanna Beau- 
fort 


John, Earl of So- 
merset. 


James II 


K. of Scots 


1430 


1437 


1460 


Mary 


Arnold, Duke of 
Gueldres. 


Jamis III 


K. of Scots 




1460 


1488 


Margaret . . . 


Christian I. King 
of Denmark. 


James IV 


K. of Scots 


1472 


1488 


1513 


Princess 
Margaret 


Henry VII. and 
Elizabeth of 
York. 


James V 


K. of Scots 


1511 


1513 


1542 


Mary, eldest 
daughter 


Claude, Duke of 
Guise. 


Mary 


Q. of Scots 


1542 


1542 


1587 


Henry Stuart 


Matthew, Earl of 
Lenox. 


James VI 


K. of Great 


1560 


1603 | 1625 


Anne of Den- 


Frederick II. 




Britain. 








mark 





362 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XI. 

The Descent of Queen Victoria from James I. 



Name. 


Rank. born. 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Co;i. 


James I 


King of Great 
Britain 


1566 


1603 


1625 


Anne .... 






King of Den- 














iu ark. 


Elizabeth Stuart 


Queen of Bo- 
hemia 


1596 




1662 


Frederick 
V. 


descended from 
Henry the Lion 
of Saxony. 


Sot-hia 


Electress.. . . 


1630 




1714 


Ernest Au- 
gustus, 


George, Duke 
of Brunswick. 














Elector of 














Hanover 




George I 


King of Great 
Britain 


1660 


1714 


1727 


Sophia- 
Dorothea 


George Wil- 
liam, Duke of 
Zell. 


George II 


King of Great 
Britain 


1683 


1727 


1760 


Caroline. . 


John Frederick, 
Margrave of 
Brandenburg. 


Frederick Lewis. 


Prince of 
Wales 


1706 


1729 


1751 


Augusta . . 


Frederick II., 
Duke of Saxe- 
Gotha. 


George III 


King of Great 
Britain 


1738 


1760 


1820 


Charlotte- 
Sophia 


Charles L.Fred. 
I., Duke of 
Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz. 


Edward, 4th son. . 


Duke of Kent 


1767 


1799 


1820 


Victoria- 
Maria- 
Louisa 


Francis, Duke 
of Saxe-Co- 
burg-Saalfeld. 


Victoria 


Q. of Great 
Britain 


1819 


1837 




Albert, D. 
ofSaxony 


Ernest Augus- 
tus, reigning 
Duke of Saxe- 
Gotha. 




VlVAT REGINA .' 





AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



363 



TABLE XII. 

The Pedigree of the House of Stuart to James VI. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Flaald 


obtained a 
grant from 
the Conque- 
ror. 








Alan 






a dau. and heir 


ofWarine, Sheriff of 
Shropshire. 


Walter, 2nd son. . 


1st Lord High 
Steward 


1177 


Eschina,heiress 


of Moll. 


Alan 


2nd Steward 
3rd Steward 
4:h Steward 


1204 
1246 
1283 


Eva 


Lord of Tippermuir. 


Walter 


Janet M'Rudrie 


* Alexander 


Angus, Earl of Bute. 


Sir John Stewart. 


of Bonkill,2d 
son, slain at 
Falkirk 


1298 


Margaret, heir. 


Sir Alexander Bon- 
kill. 


Sir Alan Stewart. 


of Dreghton, 
2d son, slain 
at Halidon 


1333 






Sir Alex. Stewart 


ofDernley,3d 


1371 






Sir Alex. Stewart 




1405 


Janet 


Sir William Keith of 






Gals town. 


Sir John Stuart . . 


1st Lord 


1429 


Elizabeth, 2nd 


Duncan, Earl of Le- 




D'Aubigny 




daughter 


nox. 


Sir Alan Stuart. . 


slain at Lin- 


1439 


Catherine .... 


Sir William Setonof 
that Ilk. 


John Stuart 


1st L. Darn- 
ley, and 1st 
E. of Lenox 


1494 


Margaret 


Alexander, 2nd Lord 
Montgomery. 


Matthew Stuart . 


2d Earl of Le- 


1513 


Elizabeth Ha- 


James, E. of Arran, 




nox, slain at 




milton 


and Princess Mary, 




Flodden 






daught.of James II. 


John Stuart 


3d Earl of Le- 


1526 


Anne Stuart.. . 


John, Earl of Athol. 


Matthew Stuart . 


4th Earl of Le- 
nox 


1573 


Marg. Douglas 


Archibald, 6th Earl 
of Angus,and Queen 
Margaret Tudor. 


Henry Stuart 


Titular King 


1567 


Mary, Queen 


James V. See Table 




of Scots 




of Scots. 


X. 


James VI 


King of Scots 


1625 







* Alexander, the 4th Steward, was father of James, 5th Steward, who, by his wife Cecilia 
daughter of Patrick, Earl of March, was father of Walter the Steward, who married Marjory 
Bruce, and by her was ancestor of the kings of Scotland. See Tab. X. 



364 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XIII. 

The Pedigree of the House of Douglas to James VI. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


William de Douglas . . . 


Lord of Doug- 
las 1057 








Sir John Douglas 


2nd Lord of 

Douglas 


1145 






Sir William Douglas - . 


3rd Lord 




Margaret . . . 


de Kerdal. 


Sir Archibald Douglas 


4th Lord 


1240 


Margaret . . . 


Sir John Craw- 
furd. 


Sir William Douglas . . . 


5th Lord 


1276 


Martha .... 


E. of Car rick. 


Sir William "the Hardy" 


7 th Lord 


1303 


Elizabeth, 
eldest daugh- 


Alex. 4th Lord 
High Steward. 


Archibald " Tinemati" . . 


10th Lord. . . 


1333 


a daughter of 


John Cummin. 


William Douglas 


1st Earl of 

Douglas 


1384 


Marg. Stuart 


Thomas, Earl of 
Angus.* 


George Douglas 


1st Earl of 

Angus, ju. 
mat. 


1402 


Prs. Mary 
Stuart 


King Robert III. 


George, 2nd son 


4th Earl of 

Angus 


1461 


Elizabeth . . . 


Sir Andrew Sib- 
bald of Balgonie. 


Archibald " Bell-the-Cai'' 1 


5th Earl of 
Angus 


1514 


Elizabeth .. . 


Robert, Lord 
Boyd. 


George Douglas 


Master of An. 
gns, slain at 
Flodden 


1513 


Elizabeth . . . 


John, Lord Drum- 
mond. 


Archibald Douglas. . . . 


6th Earl of 
Angus 


1556 


Q. Margaret 


Henry VII. 


Margaret Douglas .... 


Countess of 


1577 


Matthew 


John, 3rd Earl of 




Lenox 




Stuart 


Lenox. See 
Table XII. 


Henry Stuart 


Lord Darnley 


1567 


Mary, Queen 
of Scots 


James V. 


James VI 


King of Scots 


1625 







* He was son ot Sir Alexander Stuart, Earl of Ang-us, who was eldest son of Sir John Stewart 
ofBonkill. See Tab. XII. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



365 



TABLE XIV. 

The Pedigree of the Family of Bruce to King Robert I. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Thebotan 


Duke of Sles- 
wick, cr. 721 




Gundella... . 


Vitellan, Lord of Bel- 
lansted. 


Eusun 






Ascrida, 
granddau. 


of Olaus, King of 
Norway. 


Regenwald 


General to Ha- 




Groe, 2nd 


Urimund, Count of 




rold Harfager 




wife 


Toedem. 


Eynor 


Earl of Orkney 


930 








Earl of Orkney 
and Shetland 




Garliotta . . . 


Duncan, Earl of Caith- 




ness. 


Ladvar 


Earl of Orkney 


996 


Africa 


Somerled, Thane of 
the Isles. 


Sigurt the Gross... 


Earl of Orkney- 


1004 


First wife un- 
known 




Brusce, 3rd son . . 


Earl of Caith- 
ness 




Ostrida .... 


Regenwald, Earl of 
Gothland. 


Regenwald 


Governor of Al- 
degerburg 




Arlogia 


Waldemar, King of 

Russia. 


Robert de Brus. . 


Counsellor to 
Dnke Rohert 




Emma 


Alain, Earl of Bre- 
tagne. 


Robert de Brus. . 


accompanied the 
Conqueror 


1094 


Agnes 


Waltheg, Earl of St. 
Clair. 


Robert de Brus . . 


1st Lord of 
Annandale 


1143 


Agnes An- 
nand 


Heiress of Annandale. 


William de Brus. 


2nd Lord 


1183 


Judith de 
Lancaster 


William, Baron of 
Kendal. 


Robert de Brus. . 


3rd Lord 


1191 


Isabel 


King William the 
Lion. 


Robert de Bruce 


" the noble," 4th 


1245 


Isabel, 2nd 


David, Earl of Hunt- 




Lord 




daughter 


ingdon. See Tab. X. 


Robert de Bruce 


Competitor, 5th 


1295 


Isabel de 


dau. or granddau. of 




Lord 




Clare 


Gilbert de Clare. 


Robert Bruce . . . 


Earl of Carrick, 
jure uxoris 


1304 


Margaret.. .. 


Niel. Earl of Carrick. 


Robert Bruce . . . 


King of Scots.. 


1329 







366 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XV. 

The Pedigree of the House of De Burgh to Edward IV. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


John de Burgo 


Earl of Comyn 








Harlowen de Burgo 


L. of Conteville 




Arlotta 


Fulbert de Croy. 


Robert de Mortaigne 


E. of Cornwall 




Maud Montgo- 
mery 


Roger, Earl of 
Arundel. 


William de Moreton 


E. of Cornwall 


1106 






Adelm de Burg 


Steward to 
Henry II. 




Agues 


Louis VII. 


William FitzAdelm 


Governor of Ire- 
land 


1204 


Julian 


Robert Doisnell. 


Richard de Burgo . . 


Lord of Con- 


1243 


Hodierna de 


granddaughter of 




naught 




Gernon 


Cahill, King of 
Connaught. 


Walter de Burg. . . . 


1st E. of Ulster 


1271 


Maud de Lacie 


Hugh, Earl of 
Ulster. 


Richard de Burg 


2nd Earl 


1326 


Margaret de 
Burg 


John, Baron de 
Lanvale. 


John de Burg 


ob. vita, patris 


1314 


Elizabeth de ■ 
Clare 


Gilbert de Clare 
and the Princess 
Joan. 


William de Burg.. .. 


3rd E. of Ulster 


1333 


Maud Planta- 
genet 


Henry, Earl of 
Lancaster. 


Elizabeth de Burg. . 


Countess of Ul- 
ster 


1363 


Lionel, Duke of 
Clarence 


Edward III. 


Philippa of Clarence 


see Table VI.. 




Edmund Mor- 
timer 


Roger, 2nd Earl 
of Marche. 


Roger Mortimer .... 


5tb E. of Ulster 


1398 


Eleanor Hol- 
land 


Thomas, Earl of 
Kent. 


Anne Mortimer 






Richard, Earl 
of Cambridge 


Edmund, son of 
Edward III. 


Richard Plantagenet 


E. of Ulster and 
D. of York 


1460 


Cicely Nevill .. 


Ralph Nevill. 


Edward IV 


K. of England. 


1483 







AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



367 



TABLE XVI. 

The Pedigree of the House of Be Clare to Edward IV. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 




Duke of Nor- «9f> 




mandy 




Geoffrey'. 






Gilbert Crispin 


Earl of Brionne 




Richard Fitz-Gilbeivi" 


1st Earl of Clare 




Gilbert de Toniruce .. 


2nd Earl 




Richard de Clare . . . 


3rd Earl, and 
E. of Hertford 


1139 


Roger de Clarc 


5th E. of Clare 


1172 


Richard de Clare . . . 


6th E. of Clare 


1218 


Gilbert de Clare . . . 


Earl of Clare, 
Hertford, and 
Gloucester 


1229 


Richard de Clare .. . 


Ditto 


1282 


Gilbert de Clare .... 


Ditto.. . 


1295 


Elizabeth de Clare.. 


heir of her bro- 
ther Gilbert 




William de Bcrg 


3rd Earl of Ul- 
ster 


1333 


Elizabeth de Burg . . 


Heiress of Ul- ! 13 63 




ster 


Philipfa of Clarence 


see Table VI.. 




Rogtr Mortimer .... 


5th Earl of Ul- 
ster 


1398 








Richard Plantagenet 


Earl of Ulster 
and D. of York 


1460 


Edward IV 


K. of England, 
and Earl of 
Ulster 


1483 

I 



Parentage of Con. 



Rohesic 



Isabel de Bel 
lomont 
Eva 



Maud,dau. and 

heir 
Aniicia, co-heir 

Isabel, 3rd dau. 



MatildadeLacy 

Joan of Acres. 
John de Burg. 

Maud Planta- 
genet 

Lionel, Duke 
of Clarence 

Edmund Mor- 
timer 

Eleanor Hol- 
land 

Richard Plan- 
tagenet 

Cicely Nevill .. 



Walter Giffard, 
1st E. of Buck- 
ingham. 

Richard, Earl of 
Leicester. 

Dermot M'Carty 
More. 

James St. Hil- 
lary. 

William, Earl of 
Gloucester. 

William Marshal, 
E.ofPembroke. 

John, Earl of Lin- 
coln. 

Edward I. 

Richard, 2nd E. 
of Ulster. 

Henry, grandson 
of Henry III. 

Edward III. 

Roger, 2nd Earl 

of Marche. 
Thomas, Earl of 

Kent. 
Edmund of Lang- 

ley. 
Ralph, Earl of 

Westmoreland 



368 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XVII. 

The Pedigree of the House of Mortimer to Edward IV. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Baldric the Teuton. 










Nicholas 


LordofBacque- 










ville 








Walter de St. Martin. 










Roger de Mortemer.. 


Lord of Morte- 
mer 








Ralph de Mortemer . . 


Lord of Wig- 
more, accd. the 
Conqueror 




Millicent 




Hugh de Mortimer.. . 


2nd Lord 


1185 


Annora 


William, Lord of 
Braose. 


Roger de Mortimer . . 


3rd Lord 


1215 


Isabel de Fer- 
rars 


Walcheline deFer- 
rars of Oakham. 


Ralph de Mortimer . . 


4th Lord 


1246 


Gladuse .... 


Llewellyn, P. of 
Wales, and Joan, 
natural dau. of 
King John. 


Roger Mortimer 


5th Lord 


1282 


Maud, 2nd 
daughter 


William, Baron 
de Braose. 


Edmund Mortimer . . . 


6th Lord 


1303 


Margaret .... 


William de Fen- 
dles. 


Roger Mortimer 


IstE.ofMarche 


1330 


Joan, dau. and 


Sir Peter de Gene- 




(executed) 




sole heir 


ville. 


Sir Edmund Mortimer 




1331 


Elizabeth 








Badlesmere. 


Roger Mortimer 


2nd Earl of 
Marche 


1359 


Philippa 


William Monta- 
cute, Earl of Sa- 
lisbury. 


Edmund Mortimer .... 


3rd Earl of 


1381 


Philippa, sole 


Lionel, Duke of 




Marche 




heir 


Clarence. 


Roger Mortimer 


4th Earl of 


1398 


Eleanor Hol- 


Thomas, Earl of 




Marche 




land 


Kent. 


Anne Mortimer 


Heir of her bio. 




Richard of 


Edmund of Lang- 




Edmund 




Conin°;sburg 


ley. 


Richard Plantagenet 


Duke of York, 


1460 ! Cicely Nevill 


Ralph, Earl of 




and Earl of 






Westmoreland. 




Marche 








Edward IV 


K. of England, 
and Earl of 
Marche 


1483 







AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



369 



TABLE XVIII. 

The Descent of Edward IV. from the House of Wake. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Leofric 


Duke of Mer- 


1057 


Ediva 










Turfrida 
Hugh Ever- 
mur, Lord of 


























Deeping 




Richard de Ruixos. 
















Baldwin 


Gilbert,sonofBald- 








win V., Earl of 










Flanders. 


Emma 






* Hugh, Lord of 


* assumed the name 








Willesford 


of Wake. 


Baldwin le Wake . . • 


Baron of Wake 


1202 








Ditto 


1206 


Agnes de Ha- 
ni et 


William, Lord of 






Wichenden. 


Baldwin le Wake . . . 


Ditto 


1213 


Isabel 


William Baron de 
Briwere. 


Hugh le Wake 


Ditto 


1241 


Joan, dau. and 
co-heir 


Nicholas Lord de 
Stuteville. 


Baldwin le Wake .. . 


Ditto 


1282 


Ha wise, co-heir 


Robert de Quincy. 


John le Wake 


Ditto 


1300 


Joane. 




Margaret Wake 


heir to her bro. 




Edmund of 


King Edward I. 




Thomas, last 




Woodstock 


and Margaret of 




baron. 






France. 


Joan of Kent 


HeiressofKent, 


1386 


Sir Thos. Hoi- 


Robert, Baron Hol- 




and " Lady of 




land, K. G. 


land. 




Wake" 








Thomas Holland .... 


ju. mat. 


1397 


Alice Fitz-alan 


Richard, Earl of 
Arundel, and Elea- 
nor, granddau. of 
Henry III. 


Eleanor Holland . . . 






Roger Morti- 


Edmund, 3rd Earl 








mer 


of Marche. 


Anne Mortimer 


heir of her bro- 




Richard Plan- 


Edmund, 5th son 




ther 




tagenet 


of Edward III. 


Richard Plantagenet 






Cicely Nevill.. 


Ralph, Earl of 
Westmoreland. 


Edward IV 


K. of England 


1483 







370 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XIX. 

The Lineal Descent of the Kings of France. 



Name. 


Rank. 


born. 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Con. 


Robert the Strong . . . 


Count of 
Anjou 






866 


Adelaide, 
widow of 
Conrad, Ct. 
of Paris. 




Robert 


Duke of 
France 






922 


Beatrice, of 
Vermandois 


Pepin I., 4th 
in descent 
















from Char- 














lemagne. 


Hugh the Great 


Duke of 
France 






956 


Havige of 
Germany 


Emp. Henry 
the Fowler. 


Hugh Capet 


King of 
France 


942 


986 


996 


Adelaide.... 


of Poitou. 


* Robert 


King of 
France 


971 


998 


1031 


Constance . . 


Count of 




Provence. 


Henry I 


King of 
France 


1005 


1031 


1060 


Matilda of 
Germany 


Emp. Conrad 
the Salic. 




Philip I 


King of 
France 


1052 


1060 


1108 


Bertha 


of Montfort. 


t Louis VI. le Gros. . 


King of 
Fiance 


1078 


1108 


1137 


Adelaide of 
Savoy 


Humbert II. 
E. of Mauri- 
enne. 


Louis VII. le Jeune. . 


King of 
France 


1119 


1137 


1179 


Alice 


Count of 
Champagne. 


% Philip II. Augustus 


King of 
France 


1164 


1179 


1223 


Isabella .... 


Baldwin, E. 
of Hainault 
and Flan- 
ders. 


Louis VIII 


King of 
France 


1187 


1223 


1226 


Blanche of 
Castile 


AlphonsoIX. 
and Eleanor 
















of England. 


Louis IX. " St. Louis" 


King of 
France 


1215 


1226 


1270 


Margaret .. . 


RaymondBe- 
renger, Ct. 
of Provence. 


Philip III. the Hardy 


King of 


1245 


1270 


1285 


Mary 


Duke of Bra- 




France 










bant. 


§ Philip IV. the Fair. 


King of 
Fiance 


1268 


1285 


1314 


Jean, Queen 
of Navarre 


Henry I. K. 
of Navarre. 


|| Louis X. " le Hittin" 


King of 
France 


1291 


1314 


1316 


Margaret . . . 


of Burgundy. 


Jane 


Queen of 








Philip of Ev- 


Ct. Lewis, son 




Navarre 








reux 


of Philip le 
Hardi. 



* King Robert's dau. Alice, or Adela, married Baldwin V., Count of Flanders. See Tab. IV. 

+ Louis VI. was father of Peter, Lord of Courtenay, whose dau. Alice married Avmer, Earl 
of Angouleme, father of Isabella, Queen of King John of England. 

% Philip Augustus gave his daughter Mary to Arthur, nephew of King John. 

§ Isabel, dau. of Philip the Fair, married Edward II., whose son Edward III. claimed the 
throne of France in right of his mother. 

|| After the death ot the two brothers of Louis X. the crown passed to the descendants of 
Charles of Valois, second son of Philip the Hardy, whose male line becoming extinct in the 
person of Henry III., the crown went to the House of Bouihon. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



371 



TABLE XX. 

The Descent of the Kings of France of the House of Bourbon. 



Name. 


Rank. 


accd. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


St. Louis IX. . 


see Tab. XIX. . . 




1270 


Margaret.. .. 


of Provence. 


Robert, 6th son 


Count of Cler- 
mont, 1268 




1317 


Beatrice 


of Burgundy. 


Louis I 


1st Duke of Bour- 
bon 




1341 


Mary 


of Hainanlt. 


James 


Count of Marche 




1361 


Jane 


of St. Paul. 


John I 


Count of Marche 
and Vendome 




1393 


Catherine.. . 


of Vendome. 


Lewis, 2nd son 


Ct. of Vendome.. 




1446 


Jane 


of Laval. 


John II 


Ct. of Vendome.. 




1477 


Isabel 


of Beauvau. 


Francis 


Ct. of Vendome. . 




1495 


Mary,Ctss.of 
St. Paul 


of Luxemburg. 


Charles 


D. of Vendome.. 




1537 


Frances .... 


of Alencon. 


Anthony 


King of Navarre 




1562 


Jane D'Al- 
bret 


Henry D'Albret 
and Margaret of 
Valois. 


Henry IV 


K. of France, suc- 
ceeded Henry 
III. 


1553 


1610 


Mary de Me- 
dicis. 




Louis XIII.*. . 


King of France.. 


1610 


1643 


AnneofSpain 


Philip III. 


Louis XIV 


King of France.. 


1643 


1715 


Mary Teresa 


Philip IV. of 
Austria. 


Louis 


Monseigneur 




1711 


Maria 


of Bavaria. 


Louis 


D. of Burgundy.. 




1712 


Maria Ade- 
laide 
Mary 


Duke of Savoy. 


Louis XV 


King of France .. 


1715 


1774 


King of Poland. 


Louis 


the Dauphin. . . . 




1765 


Maria Jose- 
phine. 


Frederick Augus- 
tus, King of Po- 
land. 


Louis XVI 


King of France .. 


1774 


1793 


Marie Antoi 
nette 


of Austria. 


Louis XVIII... 


3rd son of the 


1795 


1824 


Mary Jose- 


Victor Amadeus 




Dauphin 






phine Louisa 


III., King of 

Sardinia. 



* From the youngest son of Louis XIII., Philip, Duke of Orleans, the present King of the 
French, Louis Philip, is fifth in descent. 



372 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XXI. 

The Ancestry of Henry the Fowler from Charlemagne. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Charlemagne . . . 
Louis le Debonair. 
Louis the Germanic 

Carloman 

Arnolf 


Emperor 

King of France. 

Emperor 

King of Italy. . . 
Emperor of Ger- 
many 


814 
840 
876 
880 
899 

936 

rHER 

814 

840 


Hildegarde . 
Ermengarde. 
Emma. 

Oda, a Prin- 

Otho, Great 

Duke of 

Tuscany 
Matilda. 

'S SIDE. 

Ever aid, 

Duke of 

Friuli 
Ludolf, D.of 

Saxony 
Hedwige . . . 


of Swabia. 

cess of Bavaria. 
Ludolf, D. of Saxony. 

Count Unroco, d. 834. 


Henry the Fowler. 

Charlemagne .... 
Louis le Debonair. 


Emp.ofGermany 

BY THE FA 

Emperor 

King of France. 


Hedwige 

Otto the Great . . 
Henry the Fowler. 


Duke of Tuscany 
Emperor 


912 
936 


Bruno I. 
Emperor Arnolf. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



373 



TABLE XXII. 

The Line of Witikind the Great to Henry the Lion. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Witikind 


Duke of Saxony.. 


807 


Geva 


Sififred, King of Den- 
mark. 


Wigbert 


eldest son, Duke of 
Saxony 


825 


Sandanilla.. 


Ratbod, King of Fries- 
land. 


Bruno I 


Duke of Saxony. . 


843 


Suana, Count 


ess of Montfort. 


LUDOLF 


Great Duke of Sax- 
ony 


859 


Hedwige. . . 


Everard, Duke of 
Friuli. 


Otho the Great.. 


Great Duke of Sax- 
ony 


912 


Hedwige . . . 


Emperor Arnulf. 


Henry the Fouler 


Emperor 


936 


Matilda of 
Ringelheim 


Theodoric, Count of 
Oldenburg. 


Henry I 


Duke of Bavaria.. 


955 


Judith 


Arnulf, Duke of Ba- 
varia. 


Herman, 3rd son 


Count of Northeim. 








Sigfrid I. 


Count of Northeim 
and Gottingen 


1002 






SlGFRID II 


Count of Northeim. 








Otto I. . . . 


Duke of Bavaria .. 


1082 


Cuniza .... 


of Bavaria. 


Henry Pinguis 


Duke of Saxony.. 


1101 


Gertrude, 
heiress 


Ecbert I. of Bruns- 
wick. 


RlCHENZA 


Heiress of Saxony 


1138 


Emperor 
Lothair II. 




Gertrude 


Heiress 




Henry Su- 
perbus 


Henry Niger. See 
Table XXIII. 


Henry the Lion. 


Duke of Saxony.. 


1195 


Matilda 
Planta- 

GENET 


Henry II. of England. 



374 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XXIII. 

The House 0/ Guelph in direct Line to Henry the Lion. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


GUELPH I 


Duke of Bavaria 


823 


Hedwige of Sax- 
ony. 




ElHlCO I 


Lord of Altorf . . 




Judith of England 


King Ethel- 
wolf. 


Henry I 


1st Duke of Lower 
Bavaria 




Countess Oriana . 


of Flanders. 


Henry II 


D. of Lower Ba- 


930 


Hatta, Countess of 


descended from 




varia and Ct. of 




Howenwart 


the Em p. Arnolf. 




Altorf 








Rudolph I 


3rd Duke 


940 


Siburgis 


of Suabia. 


Gerberge 






Arnulf 


Arnulf, King of 
Bavaria. 










Guelph II 


Ct. of Altorf, and 
Duke of Lower 
Bavaria 


980 






Rudolph II 


Ct. of Altorf, and 
Duke of Lower 
Bavaria 


1020 


Itha 


Cuno, * Count of 
Oeningen. 


Guelph III 


Ct. of Altorf, and 
Duke of Lower 
Bavaria 


1047 


Irmengarde .... 


Gisilbert, Count of 
Luxemburg. 


CUNEGUNDA .... 


heir to her bio. 
Guelph 




Albert-Azo II... 


Albert A/.o I. of 

Este.f 


Guelph V 


1st Duke of Up per 
and Lower Ba- 
varia 


1101 


Judith of Flanders 


Ct. Baldwin V. 
See Table IV. 


Henry the Black 


Duke of Bavaria, 


1126 


Wolfildis of Sax- 


Magnus Billing. 




Saxony, and 




ony 


See Table XXV. 




Spoleto 








Henry the Proud 


D. of Saxony, Ba- 
varia, and Bruns- 
wick 


1139 


Gertrude 


Emp. Lothair II. 


Henry the Lion 


Duke of Saxony. 


1195 


Maud Plantage- 
net 


Henry II. of 
England. 



* Count Cuno's wife was Richildis, daughter of the Emp. Otto I. son of Henry the Fowler, 
i See the nest Table. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



375 



TABLE XXIV. 

The House o/Este to Henry the Lion {Gibbon). 



Name. 


Rank. 


died- 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Boniface the Bavarian 


Count of Lucca, 








co-temp, with 










Charlemagne. 








Boniface II 


Marquis of Tus- 










cany. 










Marquis of Tus- 
cany. 


















a younger son. 
beginning of the 








Adalbert 111 










10th century. 








Othbert I 


co-temp, with the 










Emperor Otho. 








Othbert II 
















Valdrada of 


Peter Candianus 








Venice 


IV. Doge. 


Albert- Azo II 


Marquis of Milan, 
and of Genoa. 




Cunigunda. . 


Guelph III. 


Guelph V 


see Table XXIII. 


1101 


Judith of 
Flanders 


Ct. Baldwin V . 


Henry the Black .... 


Duke of Saxony 


1126 


Wolfildis of 
Saxony 


Magnus Billing. 


Henry the Proud .... 


Duke of Saxony 


1139 


Gertrude .... 


Em p. Lothair II. 


Henry the Lion 


Duke of Saxony 


1195 


Maud of Eng- 
land 


Henry II. 



TABLE XXV. 

The House of Billing to Henry the Lion. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 












Herman Billing .... 


Duke of Saxony 


973 


Hildegarde.. 


of Westburg. 


Bernhard I 


Duke of Saxony 


1011 


Geila 


Wratislaus, P. of 
Pomerania. 


Bernard II 


Duke of Saxony 


1062 


Bertrade .... 


Harald II. King 
of Norway. 


Ordulph 


Duke of Saxony 


1074 


Gisla 


OlausII.Kingof 
Norway. 








Magncs Billing .... 


last Duke 


1106 


Sophia 


Geysa II. King 
of Hungary. 


Wolfilda 


sole heiress 




Henry the 


see Table XXIV. 








Black 




Henry the Proud 


Duke of Saxony 


1139 


Gertrude .... 


Emp. Lothair II 


Henry the Lion 


Duke of Saxony 


1195 


Maud . . 


Henry II. of 

England. 



376 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XXVI. 

The House of Brunswick/Vow Henry the Lion to 
Queen Victoria. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Henry the Lion 


D. of Sax- 
ony, &c. 


1195 


Matilda of Eng- 
land 


Henry II. 


William of Winchester . . 


Duke of 
Brnnswic- 
Lunen- 
burg 


1213 


Ellen of Den- 
mark 


Waldemar I. 


Otho Puer 




1252 


Matilda of 
Brandenburg 


Margrave Albert 
II. 










1279 


Adelheid of 
Montferrat 


Marquis Boniface 
III. 






Albert the Fat, 2nd son. . 




1318 


Ricbenza .... 


Henry, Prince of 
the Wenden. 


Magnus the Pious 




136S 


Sophia of Bran- 
denburg 


Margrave Henry. 


Magnus the C/iained,4th son 




1373 


Catherine of 
Brandenburg 


Elector Walde- 
mar. 


Bernard 1 




1434 


Margaret of 


Elector Wences- 








Saxony 


laus. 


Frederick the Pious .... 




1478 


Magdalen of 
Brandenburg 


Elector Frede- 
rick I. 


Otho the Magnanimous . . 
Henry the Younger 


ob. vit. pat. 


1471 






1532 


Marg. of Sax. 


Elector Ernest. 


Ernest the Pious 




1546 


Sophia 


Henry, Duke of 

Mecklenburg. 


WlLLIAJI VI 




1592 


Dorothy of Den- 


Christian III. 








mark 




George, 6th son 




1641 


Anne Eleanor.. 


Lewis V., Landg. 
of Hesse-Darmsd. 


Ernest Augustus, 4th son 


Elector or 
Hanover 


1698 


Sophia 


Frederick, Elec- 
tor-Pal. and Eliz- 
abeth, d. of Jas.I. 


George I 


K. of Eng- 


1727 


Sophia Doro- 


George William, 




land and 




thea 


Duke of Zell. 




Elector of 










Hanover 








George II 


Ditto 


1760 


Caroline 


John Fred. Marg. 




of Brandenburg. 


Frederick Lewis 


Prince of 
Wales 


1751 


Augusta 


Frederick II., D. 
of Saxe-Gotha. 


George III 


King of 


1820 


Charlotte So- 


Charles, Duke of 




England 




phia 


Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz. 




Duke of 
Kent 


1820 


Victoria Maria 
Louisa 


Francis, D. of S.- 




Coburg-Saalfeld. 




Q. of Great 
Britain 




Albert, Dnkc of 
Saxony 






Saxe-Gotha. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



377 



TABLE XXVII. 

Tlie Line o/" Witikind to Frederick the Grave, of 
Saxe-Gotha. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Witikind the Great 


D. of Saxony . 


807 


2nd wife, 
Suatania 


Zechius, a Prince in 
Bohemia. 


Witikind II 


Ct. of Wettin . 


825 






DlETGREMMUS 


Ct. of Wettin . 




Bossena, h. 


of Count of Pleissen. 


DlTMARUS 


Ct. of Wettin . 


933 


Willa. 




Theodric I 


Ct. of Wettin . 




Judiih of .. 


Nursberg. 


Dedo II 


Ct. of Wettin . 


1019 


Titburga of 


Brandenburg. 


Theodric II 


Ct. of Wettin . 


1034 


Mathildis, 
heir 


Echard I. 3rd Margrave 
of Misnia. 




Margrave of 
Misnia 


1091 


Itha of Ba- 
varia 


D.Otto,sonofSigfridII. 




See Table XXII. 


Conrad the Pious . . 


Margrave of 
Misnia and 

Lower Lusatia 


1156 


Luitgarde . 


Frederic of Hohen- 
staufen. 


Otto the Rich 


Margrave of 
Misnia 


1189 


Hedwige .. 


Albert I. Margrave of 
Brandenburg. 


Dietrich 


Margrave of 


1220 


his cousin 


Lewis II. Landgrave of 




Misnia 




Judith 


Thuringia. 


Henry the Illustrious 


Margrave of 
Misnia, and 
Landgrave of 
Thuringia 


1288 


Constance . 


Leopold VI. Duke of 
Austria. See Table 
XXVIII. 


Albert the Froward. 


Margrave of 
Thuringia 


1314 


Margaret . . 


Emperor Frederic 11. 
by Isabel, daughter of 
King John. 


Frederic I 


Margrave cf 
Thuringia 


1324 


his cousin 
Agnes 


Mainard, Ct. of Tyrol. 


Frederic the Grave. 


Ancestor of Q. 
Victoria and 
Prince Albert 


1349 







378 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XXVIII. 

The Descent of Frederic the Grave from Alfred the Great. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Alfred the Great. . 


King of Eng- 
land 


901 


Ealswitha . . 


Earl Ethelan. 


Edward the Elder. . 


King of Eng- 
land 


925 


Elfleda 


Earl Etbelhelm. 


Editha 


Empress of 
Germany 


947 


Eur. OthoI. 


Henry the Toiler. 






953 


Conrad, D. of 
Lorraine. 












Dnke of Fran- 
conia 


1005 














989 
1039 


Adelaide . . . 
Giselle of 


of Egesheim. 


Conrad II. the Salic 


Emperor of 


Duke Herman II. 




Germany 




Suabia 




Henry III 


Emperor 


1056 


Agnes . . 


of Aquitaine. 








Leopold III. 


Leopold II. Margrave 








of Austria. 


Henry II 


First Duke of 
Austria 


11/7 


Theodora. 




Leofold V 


Second Duke .. 


1194 


Helena, 
d. 1199 


Geysa II. King of 
Hungary. 


Leopold VI 


Third Duke.. . 


1230 


Theodora- 
Commena. 




Henry, ob. vit. pat. . 




1227 


Richenda. . . 


of Thuringia. 








Herman VI. 
Mainard, Ct. 


Margrave of Baden. 


Agnes 














of Tyrol. 










Frederic I.. . 


See Table XXVII. 


Frederic the Grave . 


See next Table. 


1349 





AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



379 



TABLE XXIX. 

The Line of Frederic the Grave to Queen Victoria. 



Name. 


Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Consort. 


Frederic the Grave.. 


Margrave of 
Thuringia 


1349 


Mechild . . 


Emperor Louis V. the 
Bavarian. 


Frederic the Strong . 


added Coburg 


1380 


Catherine, 


Henry, Count of Henne- 




by marriage 




d. and heir 


burg. 


Frederic the Warlike 


Elector of 
Saxony 


1428 


Catherine . 


Henry, Duke of Bruns- 
wick. 


Frederic the Mild. . 


Elector of 
Saxony 


1464 


Margaret . 


Ernest Ironside, Arch- 
duke of Austria. 


Ernest 


Elector of 
Saxony 


1486 


Elizabeth . 


Albert III. Duke of 
Munich. 


John the Constant. . . 


Elector of 
Saxony 


1532 


Sophia . . . 


Magnus, Duke of Meck- 
lenburg. 


John Frederic L. . . 


Elector of 
Saxony 


1554 


Sybilla. . . 


John III. D. of Cleves. 


John William 


Duke of Saxe- 


1573 


Dorothy- 


Frederic III. Elector 




Weimar 




Susanna 


Palatine. 


John 


2nd Duke of 
Weimar 


1605 


Dorothy of 
Anhalt 


Prince Joachim Ernest. 






Ernest the Pious. . . 


Duke of Saxe- 


1675 


Elizabeth- 


John Philip, Duke of 




Gotha 




Sophia 


Saxe-Altenburg. 


Frederic I. eldest son 


Duke of Saxe- 


1691 


Magdalen- 


Augustus,DukeofSaxe- 




Gotha 




Sibilla 


Halle. 


Frederic II 


Duke of Saxe- 


1732 


Magdalen- 


Charles William, P. of 




Gotha 




Augusta 


Anhalt-Zerbst. 


Augusta, 15th child.. 


Princess of 
Wales 


1772 


Frederic, 
P. of Wales 


George II. 


George III 


King of Eng- 


1820 


Sophia- 


Charles, Duke of Meck- 




land 




Cliarlotte 


lenburg-Strelitz. 


Edward 


Duke of Kent. 


1820 


Victoria- 
Maria- 
Louisa 


Francis, Duke of Saxe- 
Cobnrg-Saalfeld. 


Victoria 


Q. of England 




Albert . . . 


Ernest, Duke of Saxe- 




Cobnrg-Saalfeld. 



380 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XXX. 

Tlie Descent ofQvEES Victoria by the Mother s side from 
Ernest the Pious. 



Ernest the Pious, 7th son . 

John Ernest, 7th son .... 
Francis Josias, 7th son. . . 

Ernest Frederic 

Francis Frederic Antony 

Victoria Maria Loctsa . . . 
Victoria * 



Rank. 


died. 


Consort. 


Parent, of Con. 


See Table XXIX. 


1675 


Elizabeth 
of Saxe- 
Altenburg. 




Duke of Saxe-Co- 


1729 


Charlotte- 


Josias, Ct. of 


bnrg 




Jane 


Waldeck. 


Duke of Saxe-Co- 


1760 






burg-Saalfeld 








Duke of Saxe-Co- 


1800 


Sophia An- 




burg-Saalfeld 




toinette. 




DukeofSaxe-Co- 


1806 


Augnsta- 


Henry XXIV. 


burg-Saalfeld 




Carolina- 
Sophia 


Ct. of Reuss. 


Duchess of Kent. 




Edward, 
D. of Kent 


George III. 


Queen of Great 




Albert, 


Ernest Antony 


Britain 




born 1819 


Chas. Lewis, 
reigning D. of 

Saxe-Coburg 
Saalfeld. 



The Descent of Prince Albert from Ernest the Pious. 



Ernest the Pious 


Duke of Saxe- 
Gotha 


1675 








Dnke of Saxe- 
Gotha 


1729 












Duke of Saxe-Co- 

buig-Saalftld 


1760 










Ernest Frederic 


Dnke of Saxe-Co- 
baif; Saalfeld 


1800 






Francis Frederic Antony 


Duke of Saxe-Co- 

burs-Saalfeld 


1S06 






Ernest Antony Cha. Lewis 


Reigning Duke . 




Dorothea- 
Louisa 


f Augustus, D. 
of Saxe-Go- 
tha-AItenburg. 


Albert, 2nd son 


Duke of Saxony. 


.... 


Queen 
Victoria 


Edward, Duke 
of Kent. 



* On the 9th day of November, 1841, Her Majesty gave birth to a Prince, who is Duke of 
Cornwall, and Heir Apparent. 

+ Prince Albert's maternal grandfather, Duke Augustus, was grandson of Frederic III. Duke 
of Saxe-Gotha, son of Frederic II. See Table XXIX. 



AND PRINCE ALBERT. 



381 



TABLE XXXI. 

The lineal Descent of the Kings of Denmark. 



Name. 


Rank. 


born. 1 died. 


Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Christian I.* . . 


King of Den- 
mark 


1426 


1481 


Dorothy. 




Frederic I 


sue. his bro. 
and nephew 


1473 


1533 


Anne of Branden- 
burg 


John the Cicero. 


Christian III. t 


sue. hisfather 
Frederick I. 




1558 


Dorothy 


Magnus, Duke of 
Saxe-Lunenburg. 


Frederic II.;... 




1534 


1588 


Sophia 


Ulric, Duke of 
Mecklenburg. 


Christian IV. . 




1577 


1648 


Anne Catherine. 








1609 


1678 


Sophia Amelia. . 


George, Duke of 
Brunswick-Lu- 
















nenburg. See 












Tab. XXVI. 


Christian V. . . 




1646 


1699 


Charlotte Amelia. 




Frederic IV. . . 




1671 


1730 










1699 
1723 


1746 
1766 


Christina Sophia. 








George II. of 
England. 






Christian VII. || 





1749 




Carolina Matilda 


Frederick Prince 
of Wales. 


Frederic VI. . . 




1768 


1839 


Sophia Frederica 




ChristianVIII.++ 


sue. in 1839. 











* Margaret, daughter of Christian I. married James III. King of Scots. See Tab. X. 

t Dorothy, daughter of Christian III., married William VI. of Brunswick. See Tab. XXVI. 

X Anne, daughter of Frederic II., was Queen of James I. of England. See Tab. 

§ George, son of Frederic III., was consort of Queen Anne of England. 

5T Frederic V. married Louisa, daughter of George II. 

|| Christian VII. in 1775 married his cousin Caroline of England. 

tt Christian VIII. was cousin to Frederic VI. 



[I. 



382 



ANCESTRY OF QUEEN VICTORIA 



TABLE XXXII. 

The House of Mecklenburg to Queen Victoria. 



Name. 


Rank. died. Consort. 


Parentage of Con. 


Henry Bcrewin I... 


1st Prince of 


1227 Mechild of 


Henry the Lion. 




Wenden 


Saxony 






and Meck- 








lenburg 






Henry Burewin II. 


D. of Gustrow 






John the Divine .... 


D. of Meck- 
lenburg 


1264 




Henry 




1308 Anastasia 


BarnimusL, King 










of Pomerania 


Henry the Lion. . . . 




1329 






Albirt I 






Enphemia sister of 


Magnus, King of 








Sweden. 


Magnus I 


D. of Meck- 
lenburg 


13S4 


Agnes 


Barnimus II., K. 
of Pomerania 


John II 




1423 


Catherine 


Eric IV., D. of 






Saxe-Lauenburg. 


Henry the Fat 


D. of Meck- 
lenburg, of 
Gustrow, & 
Stargard 


I4rr 


Dorothy of Bran- 
denburg 


Elector Fred. I. 


Magnus III* 




1503 


Sophia of Pome- 
rania 


Duke Eric II. 


Albert VI. the Fair 




1547 


Anne of Branden- 
burg 


Elector Joachim 








John Albert I 




1576 


Anne Sophia . . 


Albert, Duke of 






Prussia. 


John IV 




1592 


Sophia 


Adolph.D.ofHol- 






ste : n-Gottorp. 


Adolphus Fred. I. .. 


D. of Gustrow 


1653 


Maria C.r.herine. 


Julius Ernest, D. 
of Brunswick. 


Adolphcs Fred. II. 






Christina 


Christian Wil- 
liam, Dukeof 
Schartzbarg- 
Sonderhansen. 


Charles Lewis Fred. 






Albertine Eliza- 
beth 


Ernest Fred. Duke 








of Saxe-Hilburg- 










hausen. 


Sophia Charlotte. . 


Qneen of 
England 


1319 


George III 


Frederick, Prince 
of Wales. 


Edward 


D. of Kent... 


1820 


Victoria Maria 
Louisa 


FiancisF. Antony 
Duke of Saxe- 












Coburg-Saalftld.' 


Victoria 


Q. of Great 




Albeit, Duke of 


Ernest, Duke of 




Britain 




Saxuny 


Sixe-Coburg- 
Saalfeld. 



* His eldest son, Henry, called the Pacific, married Ursula, daughter of John, Elector of 
Brandeuburs, bv whom he had an onlv daughter. Sophia, who married Ernest of Zell, the Pious. 
See Table XXVI. 



APPENDIX. 






c c 



j(j\, jfc, JKK, A. JQ\> •/C^. >S(P» ^tt- «Aft» i?Yx ifihi 

tQC* ZXr w ~2r «w* «^ «w* •w* yy •w* *w* 



APPENDIX. 

A. Companions q/^Ae Conqueror. 
Chapter III. 

MANY of the Conqueror's companions in arms have 
ceased to be represented in direct male descent : as 
Chandos, whose last male heir was the famous Sir John 
Chandos; or Robert Marmion, champion to William I., 
from whom is descended by female heirs the family of 
Dymoke, the Champion; or William de Mohun, Lord of 
Dunster, whose male line became extinct in 1712 ; or Hugh 
de Montfort, whose male line failed in 1367. But many 
of our present nobility and gentry derive from the fortunate 
Norman adventurers, to whom their great captain gave a 
share of the spoils. Among them may be named the 
Aubreys (baronets), the Arundels (of Wardour), the Berke- 
leys; the Bedingfields, whose ancestor obtained a manor of 
that name; Earl Beauchamp, from Hugh de Beauchamp ; 
the Bruces ; Bowes (Earls of Strathmore) ; Burdett (of 
Foremark), from Hugo de Burdett ; Byron (Lord Byron) ; 
the Brabazons (Earls of Meath), from James le Brabanson. 
The Corbets derive from Corbeau, who is mentioned with 
honour by Ordericus Vitalis; the Courtenays (Earls of 
Devon), from Baldwin de Brionis ; the Curzons (ancestors 
of Earl Howe, and of the Barons Scarsdale), from Geraline 
de Curzon ; the Churchills (Dukes of Marlborough) from 
Roger de Courcil. The Duttons (Barons Sherborne) descend 



386 APPENDIX A. 

from Odard ; the Despencers (Barons) from Robert De- 
spencer, the Conqueror's steward ; the family of De Courcy 
(Earls of Kinsale) from Richard De Courcy ; the Dawneys 
(Viscounts Downe) from Sir Payn D'Aunay ; the D'Eresbys 
from Nigel, younger son of the famous Roger de Toni, and 
from the same Nigel descends the family of Gresley (Baro- 
nets); the house of D'Evereux (Viscount Hereford) from 
Robert de Eureux, a chief leader ; the D'Oylys (Baronets) 
from Robert D'Oiley, Constable of Oxfordshire. The Fitz- 
Williams descend from Sir William Fitz-William, said to be 
marshal in the Conqueror's army ; the Fitz-Herberts from 
one of King William's captains ; the Flemings (Baronets) 
from Michael le Fleming, a kinsman of the Earls of Flan- 
ders; the Fermors (Earls Pomfret) from a companion of 
the Conqueror ; the Fortescues from Sir Richard le Forte ; 
the Frazers (Lords Lovat) from Frizell : the family of French 
(Baron de Freyne) from D'Alfrein, who is said to be des- 
cended from Rollo, Duke of Normandy. The Grimstons 
(Earls of Verulam) from Silvestre de Grimston, Standard- 
bearer at Hastings, and afterwards Chamberlain to the Con- 
queror; the Grosvenors (Marquess of Westminster) from 
Gilbert le Grosveneur; the families of Gage (Viscounts and 
Baronets) from a companion of the Conqueror; the Guises 
(Baronets) from William de Gyse; the Grays (from whom 
Baron Gray in Scotland, and Gray, Lord Stamford) from 
Anchetil de Croy. The Herveys (Marquess of Bristol) 
derive from Robert Fitz-Hervey, son of Herve Duke of 
Orleans ; the Hotharas (Barons Hotham) from John de 
Trehouse, who had the manor of Hotham for his services at 
Hastings ; the Hazelriggs (Baronets) from Roger de Hezil- 
rig; the house of Hastings (Marquess of Hastings, Baron 
Rawdon) from Paulyn Roydon, who commanded a body of 
archers at Hastings ; the Herons (Baronets) from one who 



APPENDIX A. 387 

fought at Hastings ; the many noble families of Howard 
owe their origin to the famous Nigel de Albini. The house 
of Jocelyn (Earls of Roden) is descended from Sir Gilbert 
Jocelyne ; the Jerninghams (Barons Stafford) from Robert 
de Stafford. The house of Lambart (Earl of Cavan) from 
Radolf de Lambert (grandson of Lambert, Count of Mons) ; 
William de Molines was ancestor of the Earls of Sefton 
(Molyneux) and of the Barons Ventry (de Molines) ; the 
Moores (Earls of Mount-cashel) derive from Thomas de 
Moore ; the present Earl of Eglinton descends from Roger 
de Montgomery; from Geoffry de Montmorency, chamber- 
lain to the Conqueror's queen, are derived the Viscounts 
Mountmorres ; from Guarin de Maule, the present Lord 
Panmure; the Massys (Barons Massy) from Hamon de 
Massy ; whilst the families (Baronets) of Mainwaring, 
Malet, Mansell, Musgrave, Mordaunt, are descended from 
Norman warriors at Hastings ; the family of Maude (Vis- 
count Hawarden) is from Eustace de Montealto ; the noble 
house of Montagu, Earls of Sandwich, and the ducal house 
of Manchester, have a common ancestor in Drogo de Monte- 
acuto ; the ancestor of the Masseys (Barons Clarina) acquired 
extensive grants from the Conqueror. The Oglanders, and 
the Ogles (Baronets) descend from Norman captains at 
Hastings. The great house of Nevill, now represented by 
the Earl of Abergavenny, is from Gilbert de Nevill, admiral 
of the Conqueror's fleet ; the Pigotts, Baronets, from Picor, 
Lord of Boorne ; the Viscount Harberton (Pomeroy) from 
Ralph de Pomerai ; the Percivals (Earl Egmont) from 
Ascelin de Perceval ; from William de Percie, surnamed 
Aux Gernons, descended the great house of Percy, whose 
present representatives are the Duke of Northumberland and 
the Earl of Beverley. The Riddels (Baronets) derive from 
Geoffry de Ridel. The Lords Say and Sele derive from 



388 APPENDIX A. 

William de Say ; and the Sinclairs (Barons and Baronets) 

from Walderus de St. Clare, a kinsman of the Conqueror ; 

the Sackvilles (Dukes of Dorset) from Herbrand de Sacche- 

villa ; the Staffords (Lord Stafford) from Robert de Stafford ; 

the Saint Legers (Earls of Doneraile) from Sir Robert Saint 

Leger, upon whose arm it is said the Conqueror leaned 

when he quitted his ship at Pevensey ; the Lords Somerville 

from Walter de Somerville ; the Skipwiths (Baronets) from 

Robert de Stutevill. The great and famous house of Talbot 

(Earls of Shrewsbury, the Earls Talbot, and the Barons 

Talbot de Malahide) had an ancestor at Hastings, Richard 

de Talbot. Harold de Vallibus, or Vaux, was father of three 

sons, all at Hastings, from whom descend the present Baron 

Vaux of Harrowden, and (maternally) Lord Brougham and 

Vaux, and the former Barons Vaux of Gillesland. The 

Vavasours (Baronets) derive from Sir Mauger le Vavasour ; 

the Vernons (Barons) from Richard de Vernon. The above 

are a few selected from those who are descended from the 

Conqueror's hardy soldiers, whilst many English families 

derive from Normans who came to England soon after the 

Conquest, and many others can trace their origin to a period 

long before the Conquest. 

B. Edgar the Atheling. Chapter IV. 

IT would seem that historians hardly do justice to the cha- 
racter of this last prince of the old Saxon line. He is 
generally spoken of as infirm in body and mind, an inference 
which is drawn from his not having been able to withstand 
the pretensions either of the Saxon Harold, or of the Norman 
William. But it should be borne in mind that Edgar, 
at his father's death, was but five years old, and but 
fourteen at the death of the Confessor. And if the great 



APPENDIX B. 389 

popularity of Harold, then actually in possession of the royal 
power, could not carry him through his contest with the 
Duke of Normandy, it cannot be expected that an inexpe- 
rienced youth like Edgar should compete successfully with 
one who had the most martial spirits of the age in his train. 
Yet we find the Atheling, although obliged in the first place 
to submit to his too powerful rival, when increased in years, 
making several attempts to recover his lost kingdom, for he 
was twice crowned, once in London, and again in York ; 
and if he had been supported by a few more such men as 
Edric the Wild, Waltheof, and the brave Hereward de 
Wake, even the warlike Normans must have given way. 
Such was the prowess of the last named Saxon leader, that 
M. Thierry records a proverb which existed among the 
Anglo-Saxons to the import that if there had been four men 
like him the Normans could not have made good their 
entrance, and that had he not been killed (by a troop which 
set upon him single handed, of whom he slew fifteen before 
his own death), he would sooner or later have chased them 
from the island. 

"Et s'il eust eu od lui trois, 
Mar i entrassent li Franpois ; 
E s'il ne fust issi occis, 
Touz les chacast fors del pais." 

Edgar was highly popular with his countrymen, as proved 
by the endearing epithets with which they greeted him, " the 
handsome, the brave, 

" ^dgar Ethelinge, 
Engelonde's dereling." 

When he found opposition to the Conqueror hopeless, he 
submitted to him, by the advice of his brother-in-law the 



390 APPENDIX B. 

King of Scots, and was ever afterwards treated with great 
kindness by William, at whose death Edgar appears to have 
succeeded in securing the regard of William Rufus, who 
sent him into Scotland at the head of an army to restore 
Prince Edgar to the throne of his father Malcolm. At the 
death of Rufus the Atheling transferred his attachment to 
Robert Duke of Normandy, whom he accompanied to 
Palestine, Edgar having it is said raised twenty thousand 
men for the crusade. Upon the return of the Duke from 
the Holy Land, Edgar resided with him, and was taken 
prisoner with him at the battle of Tinchebrai by Henry I., 
but whilst that monarch behaved with great rigour towards 
his unfortunate brother, he gave Edgar his liberty, and be- 
stowed a pension upon him for the rest of his life. That he 
was personally brave cannot be doubted, he was beloved by 
the English, and had the only legal title to the throne, but 
some peculiarity must have belonged to his character to 
render his claim comparatively insignificant. 

C. The Barons of Magna Chart a. 
Chapter VII. 

MANY reasons have induced the Compiler to enter at 
large into the account of the actors in this celebrated 
epoch. First, that Her present Majesty is descended from 
some of the barons ; secondly, that their family compact 
was no less remarkable than their political alliance ; and 
thirdly, that some mistake and confusion have been made 
by respectable authorities in the names and armorial bearings 
of the parties. The names of the twenty-five barons, who 
in the year 1215 were appointed to enforce the observance 
of the Great Charter, are thus given by Hume, who quotes 
from good authorities : " The Earls of Clare, Albemarle, 



APPENDIX C. 391 

Gloucester, Winchester, Hereford, Roger Bigod, Earl of 
Norfolk, Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, William Mareschal 
the Younger, Robert Fitz- Walter, Gilbert de Clare, Eustace 
de Vesci, Gilbert Delaval, William de Moubray, Geoffrey 
de Say, Roger de Mombezon, William de Huntingfield, 
Robert de Ros, the Constable of Chester, William de 
Aubinie, Richard de Perci, William Malet, John Fitz- 
Robert, William de Lanvalay, Hugh de Bigod, and Roger 
de Montfitehet." 

Many persons must be familiar with Pine's copy of Magna 
Charta which is to be seen in the vestibule of the British 
Museum ; but in this copy professing to be a fac-simile, and 
which gives the arms of the barons, the name of Gilbert 
Delaval is omitted, and to make up the number of twenty- 
five, the Mayor of London is substituted, who at that time 
was William Hardel. But it by no means appears a satis- 
factory conclusion that because William Hardel was a sub- 
scribing witness to the charter, he should be ranked among 
the twenty-five barons afterwards appointed to enforce its 
observance. But there is one strange fact connected with 
Pine's copy which must be noticed, which is, that although 
the name of Delaval is omitted, his arms are there, viz. 
" Ermine, two bars vert," and these arms are by Pine given 
to William de Lanvellei. Mr. Thomson in his elaborate 
and beautifully illustrated Essay on Magna Charta alludes 
to this fact, but still does not include Delaval among the 
barons. Banks, in his Extinct and Dormant Peerage (vol. 
i. p. 66. Ed. 1807), states that " there was a fine engraving 
(some time since to be seen in the print shops of the metro- 
polis) of the Magna Charta, with the name of Gilbert 
Delaval one of the twenty-five barons sent to see the Magna 
Charta and the Charta de Foresta executed by King John ; 
the arms are the same as those now borne by Lord Delaval." 



392 APPENDIX C, 

Now the late Lord Delaval, who died in 1808, used as sup- 
porters to his arms, two barons clad in armour, one of whom 
held in his hand a scroll inscribed Magna Charta. Most 
writers admit that Gilbert Delaval was one of the barons in 
arms against King John, and Matthew Paris states that he 
signed the letter of remonstrance to King John in the begin- 
ning of 1215. The city of London upon this great occasion 
was represented by its banner bearer, the famous Baron, 
Robert Fitz-Walter, there was no need therefore for making 
William Hardel one of the number, and it is the more pro- 
bable that he was not so appointed, as his dignity only lasted 
during the year 1215, whilst the office of the twenty-five 
barons might endure for a lengthened period. To proceed 
however to a consideration of the barons, we will take them 
in order as before quoted. 
J 1. The Earl of Clare died 1218; this baron was 
Richard de Clare (an ancestor of Her present Majesty), 
" Ricus Comes de Clare," Brit Mus. who was also Earl of 
Hertford; his wife was a daughter of William, Earl of 
Gloucester, Amicia, whose sister Isabel was divorced from 
King John; Richard de Clare's son was another of the 
twenty-five barons, viz. Gilbert de Clare (No. 10), and his 
daughter Mabel was wife of Nigel de Mowbray, whose two 
sons, William (No. 13), and Roger (No. 15), were of the 
twenty-five barons. The arms of Clare were, " Or, three 
chevrons gules," Glover, MS. 630. Heylin, &c. 

2. The Earl of Albemarle, " Com. Aubemaul," Brit, 
Mus. died 1241. This baron was William de Fortibus, 
second of that name, sixth Earl according to Heylin, and 
seventh according to Sir Harris Nicolas ; his wife was 
Aveline, sister of Richard de Montfitchet, one of the twenty- 
five barons (No. 25), who had another sister Margaret, 
married to Hugh (or Walter ?) de Bolebec, and their daugh- 



APPENDIX C. 393 

ter Isabel married Robert de Vere, another of the twenty- 
five barons (No. 7), Alice, half sister of William de Fortibus, 
was the first wife of William Marshal (No. 8). The arms 
of William de Fortibus were, " Argent, a chief gules," 
Heylin. In Pine's copy in the Brit. Mus. they are shown 
as " Bendy of 6 argent and gules, a chief or," which Heylin 
gives to Baldwin de Betune, who married the mother of Wil- 
liam de Fortibus after his father's death. 

3. Earl of Gloucester ; " Gaufrid Comes Essex et 
Glouc." Brit. Mus. died 1216 (Glover), but in 1219 accord- 
ing to Sir H. Nicolas. This baron, better known as 
Geoffrey Fitz-Piers, or Fitz-Peter, was son of Geoffrey 
Fitz-Piers, who died 1212, a character in the Play of 
King John, " Earl of Essex, Chief Justiciary of England," 
whose wife was Beatrice, daughter of William de Say, by 
Beatrice, sister of Geoffrey de Mandeville, whose wife was 
Rohesia, daughter of Alberic de Vere, grandfather of Robert 
de Vere, one of the twenty-five barons (No. 7). The Earl 
of Gloucester married the divorced wife of King John, 
Isabel, sister to the wife of the Earl of Clare (No. 1), and 
his sister Maud married Henry de Bohun, one of the twenty- 
five barons (No. 5). The arms of Fitz-Piers are correctly 
given by Pine, " Or and gules, over all an escarbuncle of 
8 rays floretty sable/' Glover's MS. 345. 
\ 4. Earl of Winchester. " Saher Com. Winton," 
Brit Mus. died 1219. This was Saier de Quincy, created 
first Earl of Winchester in 1207, his daughter Hawise 
married Hugh de Vere, son of Robert de Vere, one of the 
twenty-five barons (No. 7). The arms of Saier de Quincy 
according to Heylin were, "Or, a fess gules, a file of 11 
points azure," but in Pine's copy the fess is shown azure, 
and file gules. 

5. The Earl of Hereford. " Henr. Com. Hereford." 



394 APPENDIX C. 

Brit. Mus. died 1220. This baron was Henr^ de Bohun, 
eighth Earl of Hereford; he married Maud, daughter of 
Geoffrey Fitz- Piers (sister of No. 3f), and through her was 
therefore connected with the families of De Clare (No 1), 
and De Say (No. 14). The office of Lord High Constable 
remained in the family of Bohun until the year 1361. The 
arms of De Bohun were, " Azure, a bend argent between 2 
cotizes and 6 lions rampant or," which are the same as 
given by Glover for " Humfridus de Bohun, Comes Here- 
ford," MS. 159. 

6. Roger Bigod, died 1220. "Roger Bigod, Com. 
Norff. et Suff." Brit. Mus. This baron is~ one of the 
characters in Shakspeare's drama of " King John," where, 
however, he is called "Robert;" his father Hugh Bigod, 
second Earl of Norfolk, married Juliana, daughter of Aubrey 
de Vere, Lord Great Chamberlain to Henry I., and grand- 
father of Robert de Vere, one of the twenty-five barons 
(No. 7). Roger Bigod, whose son Hugh was one of the 
twenty-five barons (No. 24), married Isabel, daughter of 
Hamylyn Plantagenet, half brother to King Henry II. 
Heylin gives as arms to Roger Bigod, " Or, a plain cross 
gules," which are those given in Pine's copy. Glover gives 
for Bigod, " Gules, a lion passant or." Glover also states 
that one of Roger Bigod 's sisters married Ranulph Fitz- 
Robert, a baron opposed to King John, brother probably 
of John Fitz-Robert, one of the twenty-five barons (No. 22). 
7. Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford. " Robtus Com. 
Oxon." Brit. Mus. died 1221. Robert de Vere, baron of 
Bolebec, Earl of Oxford, and Lord Great Chamberlain 
(which office continued in this family until the year 1625), 
was brother of Aubrey de Vere, fourth of the name, Lord 
Chief Justice, who married Adelicia, daughter of Roger 
Bigod, Earl of Norfolk (No. 6). Robert de Vere married 



APPENDIX C. 395 

Isabel, daughter of Hugh (Dugdale) or Walter (Sir H. 
Nicolas) de Bolebec, whose wife was Margaret, sister of 
Richard Montfitchet, one of the twenty-five barons (No. 
25). The arms of De Vere were, " Quarterly, gules and 
or, in the first quarter a mullet argent," Glover's MS. 569. 
for S r . de Veer Comes Oxon." Heylin and Edmondson 
give the same charge, but in Pine's copy they are shown as 
"Or, on a canton ermine, a mullet sable." 

8. William Mareshal the Younger, " Comes Maris- 
callus Jun r ." Brit. Mus. died 1231. This baron was son 
of the " William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke" in the play 
of King John; but he was loyal to that monarch, although 
represented in the drama as falling off to the French interest; 
he is one of the least sullied characters in the whole history 
of this country's great men. William Marshal the Younger 
married for his second wife, Eleanor, daughter of King 
John, and his sister Isabel was the wife of Gilbert de Clare, 
one of the twenty-five barons (No. 10), son of Richard de 
Clare (No. 1). The arms of William Marshal were, " Party 
per pale or and vert a lion rampant gules, armed and lan- 
gued azure," Glover's MS. for " Comes Mariscallus An- 
gliae ;" and these are given by Heylin ; but in Pine's copy 
the arms are described as " Parted per pale gules and 
azure, a lion rampant ermine," which belonged to Geoffry 
de Norwich, a baron in arms against King John. 

9. Robert Fitz-Walter. " Rob. fil. Waltr." Brit. 
Mus. died 1234. This famous baron, Lord of Castle Bay- 
nard, was the banner bearer of the city of London, and was 
chosen by the confederated barons against King John as 
their general under the title of " Marshal of the Army of 
God and Holy Church." His father Walter was son of 
Robert, fifth son of Richard Fitz-Gilbert, so that he was 
closely allied with the House of Clare. Robert Fitz-Walter 



396 APPENDIX C. 

married Dervorgoild, daughter of William de Lanvellei, 
one of the twenty-five barons (No. 23). Fuller states that 
King John wanted to seduce Fitz-Walter's daughter, the 
" fair Matilda." His arms were, " Or, a fess between 2 
chevrons gules/' Glover's MS. 617, for "S r . Fitzwalter 
Baro de Wodham." 

10. Gilbert de Clare. " Gilb. de Clara." Brit. Mus. 
died 1229. This baron (an ancestor of Queen Victoria) 
was the son of Richard de Clare (No. 1), and cousin of 
Robert Fitzwalter (No. 9), and brother-in-law of William 
Marshal the Younger (No. 8), whose sister Isabel he mar- 
ried ; he was also uncle of William de Mowbray (No. 13), 
and of Roger de Mowbray (No. 15), whose father Nigel 
married Mabel, daughter of the Earl of Clare (No. 1). |His 
arms were, " Or, 3 chevrons gules," Glover's MS. 630, for 
" Clare Comes Gloucestrise." 

11. Eustace de Vesci. " Eustach de Vesey," died 
1216. He was third baron, and married Margaret, natural 
daughter of William the Lion, King of Scots ; the cause of 
this baron's resentment against King John was, like Fitz- 
Walter's, of a personal nature, that monarch having attempted 
to corrupt his wife, a very beautiful woman. He held a 
high rank among his peers, and was deputed by the barons 
to Rome to plead their cause with the pope. Pine in his 
copy assigns to him for arms, " Quarterly, or and gules," 
but Glover in his MS. 671, gives "Or, a plain cross sable," 
for " Dns de Vescy," which charge is now borne by the 
noble House of De Vesci, descended from this baron. 

12. Gilbert Delaval, living in 1216. This name 
there is very strong presumptive evidence to make one feel 
convinced should be inserted in the roll of the twenty-five 
barons, instead of that of the mayor of London who ranks 
as No. 13 in Pine's copy. The arms of Delaval are inserted 



APPENDIX C. 397 

in Pine's copy, as before noticed, as those belonging to 
William de Lanvellei, viz. " Ermine, 2 bars vert," which 
singular bearing Glover in his MS. 598, ascribes to the 
" S r . de la Vale de Com. Northumbri," which arms were 
borne by the Delavals of Seaton Delaval (Edmondson), who 
claimed a descent from Gilbert, and who considered their 
ancestor entitled to rank as one of the twenty-five barons. 

13. William de Moubray, died 1222. " Willielmus 
de Mobray." Brit. Mus. William, fourth Baron de Mow- 
bray, called by Banks " one of the most obstinate of the 
rebel barons," was eldest of the four sons of Nigel de Mow- 
bray, who married Mabel, daughter of the Earl of Clare 
(No. 1), Nigel was grandson of the famous Neel or Nigel 
de Albini, who came in with the Conqueror, and whose son 
Roger took the name of Mowbray. William de Mowbray 
married Agnes, daughter of his kinsman William de Albini, 
Earl of Arundel. Glover gives him for arms, MS. 115, 
" Gules, a lion rampant argent," for " Moubray Diis de 
Axholme." In Pine's copy they are shown as " Party per 
pale gules and azure, a lion rampant ermine." 

14. Geoffrey de Say, died 1230. "Gaufridus de 
Say." Brit. Mus. This baron (ancestor of the Lords Say 
and Sele) was fifth Baron de Say ; his grandfather William, 
third baron, married Beatrice, sister and co-heir of Geoffrey 
de Mandeville, and their daughter Beatrice married Geoffrey 
Fitz-Piers, father of Geoffrey Fitz-Piers, Earl of Essex 
(No. 3). Glover ascribes to him for arms, " Quarterly, or 
and gules," MS. 569, for " Diis de Say." 

15. Roger de Mombezon, died 1226. "Rogerus de 
Mobray." Brit. Mus. This baron appears to have been 
Roger, the youngest brother of William de Mowbray (No. 
13), according to Sir Harris Nicolas, being fourth son of 
Nigel de Mowbray and Mabel de Clare. He is sometimes 



398 APPENDIX C. 

styled Roger de Montbegon, and by some writers, de 
Mumbezon. Mr. Thomson considers him to be a distinct 
person from Roger de Mowbray. Arms, " Gules, a lion 
rampant argent." 

16. William de Huntingfield, died about 1256. 
" Willus de Huntingfield." Brit. Mus. He was first baron 
of Huntingfield (Dugdale), and Sheriff of Suffolk (Banks). 
His arms were, " Or, on a fess gules 3 plates," Glover's 
MS. 447, for " S r . de Huntingfield." 

17. Robert de Ros, died 1227. Robtus de Roos." 
Brit. Mus. This baron (ancestor of the present Lord de 
Roos), married Isabel, natural daughter of William the 
Lion, King of Scots ; her sister Margaret was the wife of 
Eustace de Vescy (No. 11) ; the father of Robert de Roos. 
Everard, third Baron de Roos, married Rose, daughter of 
William de Trusbut, a baron, whose other daughter Agatha, 
married William de Albini, one of the twenty-five barons 
(No. 19). The well known arms of De Roos are, "Gules, 
3 water buckets or bougets," but whereas Glover, MS. 
340, makes them argent for " Dns Roos de Beauvoir et 
de Hamelake," and thus likewise Gwillim, " Ruby, 3 water 
bougets pearl ;" Heylin makes the buckets or, and so also 
are they in Pine's copy, and Banks calls them sable, which 
would hardly be good heraldry. The present baronial 
family of De Roos bear their coat as Glover and Gwillim 
give it. 

1 8. The Constable of Chester, died 1240. " J. Con- 
stabular. Cestr." Brit. Mus. This baron was John de 
Lacy, son of that Roger de Lacy who defended Chateau 
Galliard for a whole year against Philip of France in 1 204. 
John de Lacy became Earl of Lincoln in 1232. The arms 
ascribed to him are, " Or, a lion rampant purpure," which 
Glover gives to his son " Henry Lascy, Comes Lincoln," 
MS. 115. 



APPENDIX C. 399 

19. William de Aubenie, died 1236, " Willus de 
Albina." Brit. Mus. This baron was William De Albini, 
Lord of Belvoir, but it does not appear certain that he 
belonged to the powerful family of that name who were 
lords of Arundel, although the armorial bearings are the 
same. His wife Agatha, and Rose, the wife of Everard de 
Roos, father of Robert de Roos, one of the twenty-five 
barons (No. 17), were daughters of William de Trusbut. 
William de Albini was considered " the best officer among 
the confederated barons" (Hume), and his capture was 
looked upon as an irreparable loss to their cause; this 
occurred in 1216, when, after bravely defending Rochester 
Castle against King John, he was forced to yield through 
famine. He bore for arms, " Gules, a lion rampant or, armed 
and langued azure," which Glover gives for " D'Albany 
Comes Arundell," MS. 115. 

20. Richard de Percie, died 1244 ; wrongly called 
"Robtus de Percie" in Pine's copy, Brit. Mus. This 
baron, brother of Henry de Percy, from whom descended 
the great house of Percy, was younger son of Joscelyn de 
Louvain (brother of Henry the First's queen Adelais), who 
took this surname of Percy on his marriage with Agnes, 
heiress of that name. Richard's maternal grandfather, 
William de Percie, married Adelaide, daughter of Richard 
de Clare. The ancient arms of Percy, which are those given 
in Pine's copy, Brit. Mus. are " Azure, 5 fusils in fess or," 
Glover's MS. 504, for " S r . de Percy ; and these are borne 
in the 2nd and 3rd quarters by the ducal house of Percy ; 
but the correct arms of the above baron should be those of 
his father's house, viz. " Or, a lion rampant azure," for 
Brabant. 

21. William Malet, died before 1224. " Willus 
Malet," Brit. Mus. This baron, descended from William 

D D 



400 APPENDIX C. 

Malet, Lord of Gravile, who came in with the Conqueror, 
was Lord of Corey Malet, in the county of Somerset, and 
is an ancestor of the baronets of the name of Malet, whose 
representative bears the same arms " Azure, 3 escallops 
or," Glover's MS. 422, for "Sir Baudwyn Mallett," and 
Edmondson gives the same coat for " Malet of Andres, 
Somerset," though Mr. Thomson states that this coat be- 
longed to Hamelyn de Deaudon, whose heiress Mabel 
conveyed the estate of Andries to her husband, the above 
named Sir Baldwin ; Mr. Thomson also states that the true 
arms of William Malet should be, " Gules, a lion rampant 
or, debruised with a bendlet ermine." 

22. John Fuz-RoBERr. " Johes fil Robti." Brit. Mus. 
Sir Harris Nicolas says that neither Dugdale nor any other 
genealogical writer gives any account of this baron, and 
conjectures from his arms that he was related to the Clare 
family. Glover, MS. 628 gives "Or, 2 chevrons gules," 
which were borne by this baron, for "Sir Walter Fitz-Robert 
de Com. North." and these arms resemble those of Robert 
Fitz-W alter (No. 5), whose father was Walter Fitz-Robert, 
and it is highly probable that John Fitz-Robert was brother 
or cousin to Robert Fitz-Walter. 

23. William de Lanvalay. This baron, called in 
Pine's copy " Willus de Lanvaley," has the arms of Delaval 
ascribed to him, whereas he bore " Gules, a lion passant or" 
(Banks). He was second baron of the name, his wife was 
a daughter of Alan Basset, and Devorgoild his daughter 
became the wife of Robert Fitz-Walter. 

24. Hugh de Bigod, died 1225, was the son of Roger 
Bigod, Earl of Norfolk (No. 6) ; he married Maud, sister 
of William Marshal the Younger (No. 8) ; his arms were 
the same with those of his father, " Or, a cross gules." 

25. Roger de Montfitchet. " Ricus de Munfichet." 



APPENDIX C. 401 

Brit. Mus. Richard (not Roger) de Montfitchet was 
fourth baron ; Banks calls him " a person of veiy turbulent 
spirit." His great grandfather William, first baron, married 
Margaret, daughter of Gilbert Fitz-Richard, Earl of Clare. 
Aveline, one of Richard Montfitchet's sisters, married Wil- 
liam de Fortibus (No. 1), and Margaret, another sister, was 
the wife of Hugh de Bolebec. The arms of Montfitchet 
were, "Gules, 3 chevrons or," Glover's MS. 630. 

The above list, it is believed, is a correct one of those 
barons who were the chief personages in the most important 
drama ever acted in English history. It will be seen that 
nearly all these "twenty -five kings" were connected with 
each other by marriage, as if the hazardous part they were 
about to play required a stronger tie than even that of 
community of political feeling to make their compact safe. 
The armorial bearings have been given from the best autho- 
rities, and differ greatly from those in Pine's copy in the 
British Museum, which has misled those who have since pub- 
lished copies of the Magna Charta, so that, expensively em- 
blazoned as these are, they are quite valueless as authorities. 

D. First Founders of the Order of the Garter. 
Chapter IX. 

" When first this order was ordain'd, my lords, 
Knights of the Garter were of noble birth ; 
Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage, 
Such as were grown to credit by the wars ; 
Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, 
But always resolute in most extremes." 

1 K. Hen. VI. Act iv. sc. 1. 

IN the year 1349 (Sir Harris Nicolas), although Froissart 
says 1344, Edward III. established the most honourable 
Order of the Garter, which has been looked upon as the 



402 APPENDIX D. 

most distinguished knightly institution in all Europe. It 
was to consist of twenty-five knight companions, besides 
the sovereign, and they who received this distinction at the 
institution are designated " First Founders." The names 
of these illustrious personages are as follow in the order in 
which they were created. 

King Edward III., Sovereign of the Order; died 1377. 

1. Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince. It is 
hardly necessary here to record the services of this bright 
example of all that is chivalrous and noble. This "young 
Mars of Men" was only in his seventeenth year when he 
contributed so greatly to the victory of Cressy, 1346. His 
subsequent career was a series of military glory, to which 
the virtues of magnanimity and modesty imparted a soften- 
ing charm. This favourite of his country died a year before 
his father, namely, in 1376, leaving one son, by his consort 
the Fair Maid of Kent, who became king as Richard II. 
The arms of the Black Prince were " Quarterly, France and 
England, with a label argent." 

2. Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, and Earl 
of Derby, son of the Earl of Lancaster, who was grandson 
of Henry III.; died 1362. Hume says of him, "This 
prince, the most accomplished in the English court, pos- 
sessed to a high degree the virtues of justice and humanity, 
as well as those of valour and conduct." The Earl of 
Derby commanded for Edward III. in Scotland, in France, 
in Guienne, and was much distinguished in the great sea- 
fight at Sluys, at Cadsant, Auberoche, and at many import- 
ant battles. His daughter Blanche married John of Gaunt, 
and by him was mother of Henry IV. His arms were 
those of " England, a label of 3 points azure, each charged 
with as many fleur-de-lys or." 

3. Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick ; died 1369. 



APPENDIX D. 403 

This noble bed, as one of King Edward's marshals, the van 
at the battle of Cressy (1346), and again at the battle of 
Poitiers (1356) where he took prisoner the archbishop of 
Seniz, whom he ransomed for £3000. He was appointed 
Governor of the Channel Isles, and Sheriff of Warwick and 
Leicester for life. He married Catherine, daughter of Roger 
Mortimer, Earl of Marche. The Earl of Warwick's arms 
were, " Gules, a fess between 6 crosslets or." Glover's 
MS. 711. 

4. Sir Piers de Creilly, Captal de Buche, by some 
writers called Sir Peter de Foix, from his relationship to that 
warlike house ; he married Bianca, sister of Gaston II. 
Count de Foix ; Mr. Anstis calls him " Sir John de Greilly, 
of royal lineage, and the most renowned commander at that 
time, whose unalterable loyalty to the crown of England 
was such that he chose to die a prisoner at Paris, 1 397, 
(1376 ?), rather than deviate from it." The title of Captal 
was originally equivalent to Count ; in the fourteenth cen- 
tury there were only two Captals, namely, of Buche, and of 
Franc. The Captal de Buche is frequently mentioned with 
the highest honour by the historian Froissart; he had a 
principal command at Poitiers, where he took prisoner the 
Earl of Ponthieu, whom the Black Prince purchased for 
25,000 crowns, and he succeeded Sir John Chandos as 
Constable of Guienne. At the battle of Cocherel, 1364, 
the Captal was opposed to the famous Bertrand du Guesclin, 
and was taken prisoner by a band of thirty men at arms who 
had been ordered to attack no one but the Captal. He 
fought afterwards at Najara under the Black Prince, at whose 
death he is said to have died for grief. His arms were, 
" Quarterly, 1 and 4, paly of 6 or and gules for Foix, 
2 and 3, or two cows passant gules, hoofed, collared and 
belled azure, for Beam." 



404 APPENDIX D. 

5. Ralph Stafford, Earl of Stafford ; died 1372. 
This noble ancestor of the present Lord Stafford was joint 
marshal of the army with the Earl of Warwick at Cressy, 
and he is reckoned by Froissart among "the most renowned 
knights who were with the Black Prince at Poitiers." (Vol. 
i. p. 418. Ed. Johnes). He had commanded the fleet, 18 
Ed. III. and was Lieutenant and Captain General in Aqui- 
taine. He married Margaret, sole daughter and heir of 
Hugh, Lord Audley by Elizabeth de Clare, granddaughter 
of Edward I. His arms were, "Or, a chevron gules," 
Glover's MS. 620. 

6. William Moxtacute, Earl of Salisbury ; he survived 
all the founders, and died 20 Richard II. He was son of 
the Earl of the same name, who had the principal part in 
the seizure of Roger Mortimer, for which service he had 
many of the forfeited estates of that baron. The second 
William Montacute attended Edward III. to the wars in 
France, served at Cressy, and commanded the rereward at 
Poitiers. He was appointed, 2 Rich. II. Governor of Calais. 
His arms were, " Argent, 3 fusils in fess gules/' He mar- 
ried Elizabeth, daughter of John, Lord Mohun, one of the 
first founders. 

7. Roger Mortimer, Earl of Marche; died 1359, an 
ancestor of Queen Victoria. This was the grandson of the 
Roger Mortimer who was executed, and attainted for high 
treason. He appears to have stood high in the favour of 
Edward III. whom he attended to France, and held a com- 
mand in the third division of his army at Cressy. He was 
appointed commander 33 Ed. III. of the English forces in 
France, and died at Ronera, in Burgundy, 34 Ed. III. 
His wife was Philippa, sister of the last named baron, the 
Earl of Salisbury. The arms of Mortimer were, " Barry of 
6, or and azure, on a chief of the 2nd, three pallets between 



APPENDIX D. 405 

two esquiers bast dexter and sinister of the first, an in- 
escutcheon argent," Glover's MS. 558, for " S r . de Morty- 
mer Comes Marchiorum Wallice." 

8. Sir John Lisle, Baron Lisle ; died 1356. This 
knight, mentioned with honour by Froissart, distinguished 
himself at the battle of Vironfosse, and likewise served at 
Cressy. His arms were " Gules, a lion passant gardant or, 
crowned argent." Glover gives, MS. 178, for S r . Waryn de 
Lisle, " Gules, a lion passant gardant argent, crowned or." 

9. Sir Bartholomew, Lord Burghersh ; died 1369. 
This knight, who is frequently noticed with great honour 
by Froissart, accompanied Edward III. into Gascony, was 
engaged at Cressy, and distinguished himself at Poitiers ; 
he also took Cormicy (Froissart, vol. i. p. 546). His arms 
were, " Gules, a lion rampant double queue or," Glover's 
MS. 172. The barony of Burghersh gives a title to the 
eldest son of the Earl of Westmoreland, a descendant of 
Sir Bartholomew de Burghersh. 

10. Sir John de Beauchamp, Lord Beauchamp ; died 
1360. He distinguished himself under Edward III. at 
Vironfosse (Froissart), at the naval fight of Sluys, and at 
Cressy, where he was standard-bearer. He was Constable 
of the Tower of London, of Dover, and Warden of the 
Cinque Ports. His arms were, " Gules, a fess between 6 
martlets or." 

11. John, Lord Mohun; died about 1373. His ances- 
tor came in with the Conqueror, and was Lord of Dunster. 
He accompanied Edward III. to Gascony, and is honour- 
ably mentioned by Froissart. One of his daughters, Eliza- 
beth, married William de Montacute, one of the first foun- 
ders of the Garter. The arms of Mohun were, " Gules, a 
maunch ermine, the hand proper holding a fleur-de-lys or." 
Glover's MS. 335, for " S r . de Mohun." 



406 APPENDIX D. 

12. Sir Hugh Courtenay, Baron Courtenay; died in 
1374, in the lifetime of his father, Hugh Courtenay, Earl of 
Devon, whose father the first Earl had rendered signal service 
in the beginning of the reign of Edward III. His arras 
were, "Or, 3 torteauxes." Heylin, and Glover's MS. 
439. 

13. Sir Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent; died 1360. 
He served under Edward III. in France, and at the capture 
of Caen took prisoner the Earl of Ewe, Constable of France, 
whom he sold to the king for 40,000 florins. He held a 
chief command in the van of Prince Edward's army at 
Cressy, and fought under him at Najara (Froissart, vol. i. 
p. 736). In 28 Ed. III. he was appointed Lieutenant and 
Captain General of Britany and Poitou. In 30 Ed. III. he 
was made Governor of the Channel Isles, and in 34 Ed. III. 
Lieutenant and Captain General in France and Normandy. 
Sir Thomas Holland is an ancestor of Queen Victoria, and 
became Earl of Kent by his marriage with Joan the " fair 
Maid of Kent," who, after his death, married her cousin 
the Black Prince. Sir Thomas Holland's arms were, " Azure, 
seme de fieur-de-lys, a lion rampant gardant or," Heylin. 

14. Sir John Grey, Baron Grey of Codnor, Earl of 
Tankerville in Normandy, maternal ancestor of the present 
race of Tankerville; died 1392. He served in the wars in 
Scotland and Flanders, and was made Governor of Roches- 
ter Castle for life. His arms were, " Barry of 6, argent and 
azure, in chief 3 torteauxes," which Glover ascribes to " S r . 
Grey de Ruthin," MS. 602. 

15. Sir Richard Fitz-Simon. He was a leader under 
the Earl of Derby in the wars of Gascony ; his arms were, 
" Azure, a lion rampant ermine," Glover's MS. 117. 

16. Sir Miles Stapleton ; died 1373. He was son of 
Nicholas Baron Stapleton, served at the siege of Calais, and 



APPENDIX D. 407 

during the wars in France. His arms were, "Argent, a lion 
rampant sable," Glover's MS. 115. 

17. Sir Thomas Wale; died 1352 ; the first founder 
whose death made a vacancy in the original number. His 
arms were, " Or, a lion rampant gules," Blome. 

18. Sir Hugh Wrottesley; died 1 380. An ancestor of 
the present Lord Wrottesley, This knight was present at 
the siege of Calais, and served in the wars in France. His 
arms were, " Or, 3 piles sable, a canton ermine," Glover's 
MS. 666. 

19. Sir Nele Loring; died 1385. This distinguished 
knight is frequently mentioned with great praise by Frois- 
sart (pp. 412, 736, &c.) He was chamberlain to the 
Black Prince, and served under him in France and Spain, 
and, with Lord Burghersh and Sir Walter Paveley, over- 
threw the French at Romorantin, and signalized himself at 
Najara. His arms were, " Barry of 6 or and sable, a bend 
argent." 

20. Sir John Chandos; died 1370. This celebrated 
hero was engaged in almost all the important victories of 
Edward III., and his son. By the former he was knighted 
before the battle of Vironfosse ; he distinguished himself in 
the naval action of Sluys, and at Cressy, and Poitiers, and 
Najara; he commanded at the battle of Aurai, where he 
took Du Guesclin prisoner. Sir John Chandos left the 
Black Prince heir to all his property in Normandy to the 
yearly value of £4000. His arms were, "Argent, a pile 
ritche gules." Nisbet, Gwillim, and Glover, MS. 663. 

21. Sir James Audley, Baron Audley; died 1386 
(ancestor of the present Lord Audley). This famous knight, 
second to none of his brethren in arms, is well known for 
his courage at Poitiers, and as Speed says, " wan immortal 
renown at this bloudy battell, where he received many 



408 APPENDIX D. 

wounds." Not less conspicuous was his generosity to his 
four brave esquires in that memorable field, Dutton of 
Dutton, Delves of Doddington, Fowlehurst of Crew, and 
Hawkestone of Wainhill (Ashmole), ancestors of families 
yet extant. Lord Audley's arms were, " Gules, a fret or, a 
border argent." 

22. Sir Otho Holland, brother to the before mentioned 
Sir Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent; died 1359. He was 
at the siege of Calais, where he was taken prisoner. His 
arms were, " Azure, seme de fleur-de-lys, a lion rampant 
gardant argent," Heylin, and Blome. 

23. Sir Henry Eam, by Milles called Esme, and by 
Froissart Sir Henry of Flanders. He appears to have given 
much useful information for the guidance of Edward. III., 
who knighted him early; he distinguished himself at Sluys 
(Froissart), and served under the Earl of Derby in Gascony. 
For his services Edward III. settled £200 a year upon him. 
Glover gives as his arms, "Or, a fess sable, a lion gardant 
issuant gules," MS. 190, for Sir Henry Eam or Esme. 

24. Sir Sanchez D'Ampredicourt ; this knight was son 
of Sir Eustace D'Ampredicourt, who married Elizabeth 
(widow of John Plantagenet, Earl of Kent, son of Edmund 
of Woodstock), daughter of William, Duke of Juliers, and 
Earl of Cambridge, by Mary the daughter of Reginald, Earl 
of Gueldres, who married Eleanor, daughter of Edward II. 
Sir Eustace is much noticed in Froissart : he entertained 
Queen Isabel, mother of Edward III., when she was in 
Hainault, and accompanied her to England, where he was 
held in great honour. Unless he has been mistaken for his 
son, he attended the Black Prince in France and Spain, and 
formed with the Captal de Buche and Lord Burghersh an 
advanced guard before the battle of Poitiers to observe that 
of the French, which they attacked and routed (Froissart, 



APPENDIX D. 409 

vol. i. p. 418). He was taken prisoner at Nogent, after- 
fighting valiantly, and the people of Champagne out of 
regard for him subscribed for his ransom, and made him 
their chief. His arms were, " Gules, 3 bars humet argent," 
Blome. But Glover, MS. 607, gives "Ermine, 3 bars 
gules," for Dambreticourt. 

25. Sir Walter Paveley; died 1375. This knight is 
much noticed in Froissart, and by him is mentioned as one 
of the most renowned knights at Poitiers ; he also distin- 
guished himself in other important actions. His arms were, 
" Barry of 6 or and sable, a bend argent," Glover's MS. 
553. 

It is difficult to account for the peculiar badge and motto 
of this order otherwise than by the popular legend of Edward 
III. picking up the garter of one of the ladies of the court. 
Tradition names the Countess of Salisbury, and from the 
quaint writer Fuller we gather that this must have been the 
celebrated Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, who was however 
only affianced, not married, to William Montacute, Earl of 
Salisbury ; Fuller, speaking of her as the wife of her cousin 
the Black Prince, says, " This is she whose garter (which 
now flourisheth again) hath lasted longer than all the ward- 
robes of the kings and queens in England since the Con- 
quest, continued in the knighthood of that order." The 
motto would be unmeaning unless occasioned by some such 
action as that usually attributed to the origin of this order : 

ItonB sou qur) mal n pense. 



410 APPENDIX E. 



E. Competitors for the Crown of Scotland. 
Chapter XV. 

/^N the death of Margaret of Norway, the young queen 
^* of Scotland, thirteen competitors appeared for the 
crown, most of whom however were derived through illegi- 
timate channels from the royal family of Scotland. The 
names of these rivals were, 1 . John Baliol, afterwards king, 
son of John Baliol and Devorgoil, the daughter of Alan of 
Galloway, who married Margaret, eldest daughter of David, 
Earl of Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion. 
2. Robert Bruce, son of Robert Bruce and Isabel, second 
daughter of Earl David ; her great grandson Robert Bruce 
became king. 3. John Hastings, grandson of Henry, Lord 
Hastings, and Ada, youngest daughter of Earl David. 4. 
John Comyn, slain by Bruce, son of John Comyn of Bade- 
noch and Marjory, sister of John Baliol, the Competitor. 
5. Florence V., Earl of Holland, great grandson of Florence 
III., who married Ada, daughter of Prince Henry of Scot- 
land, the father of Earl David. 6. Robert de Pynkeni, 

probably grandson of de Pynkeni, who married 

Alicia, daughter of Gilchrist, first Earl of Angus, by Mar- 
jory, daughter of Prince Henry of Scotland ; 7. Patrick 
Dunbar, Earl of March, son of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, 
who married Ada, natural daughter of King William the 
Lion. 8. William de Vesci, son of William de Vesci, whose 
father Eustace de Vesci (one of the twenty-five barons of 
Magna Charta), married Margaret, natural daughter of 
Williarn the Lion. 9. William de Roos, son of Robert de 
Roos, whose father William de Roos was son of Robert de 
Roos (also one of the twenty-five barons), who married 



APPENDIX E. 411 

Isabel, natural daughter of William the Lion. 10. Nicholas 
de Soulis, son of Nicholas de Soulis, who married a daugh- 
ter of Alan Durward and Marjory, natural daughter of 
Alexander II. 11. Patrick Galithly, son of Henry Galithly, 
a natural son of William the Lion. 12. Roger de Mande- 
ville appears to have made his claim as descended from 
Helen, daughter of Alan of Galloway, and Margaret the 
daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon. 13. The King of 
Norway claimed the crown as heir to his daughter. 



THE END. 



